Inset: Rodolfo E. Rosette (Taylor County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The Taylor County Jail where Rosette is currently being held (Google Maps).
A father in Texas has been arrested for allegedly abusing his 6-week-old daughter, squeezing the newborn so hard he broke her ribs and pulling her legs so hard that he fractured her legs in multiple places.
Rodolfo Rosette was taken into custody on Monday and charged with one count of felony injury to a child, court records show. Under Texas law, the charge, a first-degree felony, is punishable by up to life in a state correctional facility.
The victim was admitted to Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth earlier this month with a spate of horrific injuries that doctors said were consistent with child abuse. The infant’s condition led the medical staff to contact the Abilene Police Department, Victoria CBS affiliate KXTS reported.
The baby’s injuries included “fractures to her rib, femur, and tibia” as well as a torn frenulum — the fold of tissue that secures the tongue to the floor of the mouth — and numerous bruises across her body. The victim’s ribs had been broken at least 17 times in only six weeks and were in various stages of healing, a telltale indicator of prolonged abuse, local CBS and Telemundo affiliate KTAB reported.
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Doctors also noted that there was blood in the child’s feces and vomit and she was noticeably underweight.
In an interview with investigators, Rosette allegedly admitted that he had grown “frustrated” with the infant and “gripped” her too tight, likely causing the latest rib fractures. The father also reportedly admitted that he buckled his daughter in her car seat with straps so tight that the child “squealed” in pain, according to KTXS.
Police later checked the child’s car seat and reportedly said the straps were set so tightly that the officers said they could barely fit their hands between the strap and the seat.
Authorities believe Rosette broke the newborn’s legs by pulling them with too much force in an effort to make her have a bowel movement. He reportedly told investigators the baby was not extending her legs all the way out and he jerked them too hard.
The child’s torn frenulum was likely caused by Rosette forcing the 6-week-old to keep a bottle in her mouth.
The child was taken from Rosette’s custody and after three weeks, police said she suffered no new injuries and was gaining weight.
Rosette is currently being held in the Taylor County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond, records show.
