A Bristol Township couple face felony charges after police allege that they could not provide a credible explanation for injuries found on their newborn daughter including a leg fracture.
Bristol Township police opened an investigation in March after receiving a report of an infant being treated at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia for injuries. At the time the infant was one month old.
The couple took the infant to see her pediatrician twice shortly after her birth and no injuries were reported, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The mother, Amanda Jones, 22, reported finding bruising on the infant’s eye and cheek on March
5, but the couple did not take the baby to the emergency room as their pediatrician had directed, allegedly because they didn’t have a car.
Instead the couple ordered bruise ointment through a delivery app, the affidavit said.
About a week later, the couple noticed more bruising on the baby’s body, but the parents did not seek immediate medical attention and allegedly waited two days until her next scheduled pediatrician appointment.
At that appointment, the doctor directed the couple to immediately take the infant to the hospital, which they did, and the baby was admitted. Doctors examined her and found bruising to the infant’s back, cheek, thigh and abdomen.
They also found bleeding in her left eye and old bruises on her eyelids, and a leg fracture likely caused by pulling or yanking motion, the affidavit said.
The doctor advised the injuries were consistent with “non-accidental trauma,” police said.
Young told police she did not know where the bruises came from but that she and the infant’s father, Rakeem Fielder, 30, had been doing repetitive bicycle motions with the infant’s legs to promote bowel movement because she was constipated, the affidavit said.
Fielder allegedly told police that he was the only one doing the bicycle exercises with the infant, which he performed four to five times since she was brought home.
The couple maintained that they were the only ones taking care of the child and they did all child care tasks together since the birth.
Bristol Township police have charged Young and Fielder each with felony aggravated assault and related misdemeanors
Young was arraigned before District Judge Joanne Kline on Aug. 26 and transferred to Bucks County Correctional Center in lieu of $25,000 bail. She had no legal representation listed as of Aug. 27, according to the public court docket.
Fielder had not been arraigned on his charges as of Thursday.
Crime and Courts Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bristol Township couple accused of abusing newborn child | Exclusive
