Inset: Taejon Rhodes (Waukesha County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Children’s Wisconsin hospital (Google Maps).
The father of a 1-month-old baby in Wisconsin is behind bars after police said the little boy suffered severe injuries.
Taejon Rhodes, 21, is being held on $1 million cash bond at the Waukesha County Jail after being charged with child abuse and reckless injury in connection with his 1-month-old son. According to a criminal complaint obtained by local Fox affiliate WITI, police responded to a Waukesha, Wisconsin, apartment on July 9 after receiving reports about a baby who was not breathing. Officers arrived to find Rhodes on the floor, kneeling over his baby son, whose skin was reportedly turning gray due to his difficulty breathing.
Police said Rhodes told them he was scrolling through TikTok while his sleeping baby was in his arms. He claimed that the baby “twitched” then rolled out of his arms and onto the floor, falling about 36 inches. But the baby’s injuries were much more severe than what would come from such a fall, according to the complaint.
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According to reporting on the complaint by local news outlet The Freeman, the baby’s mother was in the home cooking at the time and did not see what happened. Rhodes reportedly came rushing into the room to tell her the baby fell out of bed, and she immediately called 911.
Police said that when they saw the baby, the boy had a visible bruise around his eye that they believed was a previous injury, noting that it was purple and yellow in color. The boy also had “extreme swelling” on the left side of his head and was taking short, gasping breaths. Due to the severity of the baby’s injuries, he was taken to Children’s Wisconsin hospital for specialized care and needed pediatric life support during transport.
According to the complaint, police followed up on the baby’s condition a week after the initial call. Medical staff diagnosed the baby with a skull fracture, significant brain bleeding, bleeding in both kidneys, and elevated liver enzymes, all of which indicated a “penetrative” injury likely caused by “direct force trauma like punching, kicking, or hitting.”
Police said they did not believe Rhodes’ story about the baby falling out of his arms, but he told officers that he “doesn’t have any other story to tell.” The mother is not suspected of any wrongdoing.
Rhodes was arrested on Monday and remains in custody. In addition to a $1 million cash bond, a judge ordered Rhodes not to make contact with the baby’s mother and not to come within 0.05 miles of Children’s Wisconsin, where his son is still being treated. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 28.
The post Dad’s story that 1-month-old rolled out of his arms does not explain baby’s skull fracture, bleeding brain and kidneys: Police first appeared on Law & Crime.
