Man charged with battering four-month-old
A Greencastle man has been arrested and charged with battery causing serious bodily injury to a four-month-old child.
Justin Miles, 24, has been charged with two Class B felonies for allegations of causing injuries of hemorrhages to the brain and eyes and bruising to the buttocks of a four-month-old that was in his care.
"These charges are as a result of an investigation by the prosecutor's office and the Department of Child Services that arose after the child was treated at Riley Hospital," Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter said.
"Mr. Miles was arrested by our investigator after the court approved an arrest warrant."
It is alleged that Miles battered his girlfriend Brittany Adamson's child while the mother was at work. The incidents were said to have taken place between March 1 and April 11.
The child's head injuries came as a result of an April 11 incident in which Miles called Adamson, who was at work, saying the child had fallen from the couch at their shared residence. The alleged fall knocked the child unconscious.
The child was taken to Putnam County Hospital and transferred to Riley. At Rileyl, Dr. Roberta Hibbard of the Indiana University Child Protection Program reported the child's injuries to Putnam County Department of Child Services caseworker Tim Haltom, who went to the Indianapolis hospital to investigate.
At Riley, the bruising to the child's buttocks was also discovered. Adamson said Miles had told her the baby fell from a child restraint seat on the couch and onto the floor, causing the injuries. The incident had happened about a week earlier.
Bollinger's investigation of the home revealed the fall from the couch would have been less than 16 inches and the fall from the safety seat would have been less than 18 inches. Hibbard told Bollinger the injuries were not consistent with accidental falls of this distance, but of abuse in which a "significant amount of force" was applied.
Hibbard also said the child had hemorrhages of different ages, as well as a fractures of the left ankle and bottom of the right heel. All this indicated a pattern of abuse, not isolated falls.
An arrest warrant was issued for Miles on July 7. He was booked into the Putnam County Jail on July 9.
Miles' initial hearing in Putnam Circuit Court was Monday, with Morgan Circuit Judge James Harris presiding. His bond was set at $30,000 and his pre-trial conference set for Sept. 1.
Sydney Tongret was appointed public defender.