Abusing an infant so bad that they require hospitalization is heinous enough. Denying it and creating an alternative story for how the injuries happened is something else, and that’s what one Bristol Township man is accused of doing.
Tyrone Springer, 18, of Croydon, has been charged with aggravated assault aggravated assault of a minor, child endangerment and a litany of other related offenses in connection with his alleged physical abuse of his infant son, according to authorities. Springer was arraigned before Bristol Township District Court Judge Joanne Kline Wednesday with bail set at 10 percent of $75,000.
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Bristol Township police were contacted by via a child line abuse report originating from St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia, court records show. According to the report the infant identified in court records as “TS” had a broken femur and bruising on his chest.
The abuse report said the injuries were “concerning for non-accidental trauma,” police said.
Detective Greg Beidler interviewed the infant’s mother on October 17, court records show. She told police she shares a bedroom at her home on the 900 block of Stephen Avenue in Croydon with Springer and their child.
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She told police, according to the probable cause, that she had been home all day on October 16 except for between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Springer watched their child while she was out. Prior to leaving, she fed and changed the infant child and noticed he was only kicking one of his legs. She noted to police that he usually kicks both during changes, adding that the child did not cry nor did she notice any visible injuries, court documents show.
When the child’s mother left, Springer was in the bedroom with their child and when she arrived home Springer was feeding the infant, she told police.
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Throughout the remainder of the day, she would periodically check in on Springer and the child, according to court records. At 10 p.m during a check in, she noted he was “kind of crying,” police said. As she was changing TS, the mother noticed one leg appeared swollen and was sensitive to the touch, police said.
The woman called her mother into the room and she noticed bruising “all up his chest,” court papers say.
The woman took the child to the Lower Bucks Hospital Emergency Room. TS was subsequently transferred to St. Christopher’s for further treatment and evaluation.
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On October 17, Beidler interviewed Springer at the Philadelphia medical facility. Springer told the detective TS rolled off the bed onto a box of baby formula, and he didn’t tell anyone because he didn’t want his girlfriend to be mad at him, court records show.
On October 22, Beidler secured a search warrant in order to take measurements of the height of the bed to floor and mattress. It was determined it was 22 inches from bed to bedroom floor. Beilder forwarded his findings to a doctor specializing in abuse allegations to determine the validity of Springer’s story of the infant falling off the bed. The doctor wrote the infant had bruises across the belly, a fractured growth plate, on left elbow, an elevated liver function, which indicated “trauma” to the liver, and a complete break of the left femur. The medical professional stated that the injuries “were unquestionably the result of child abuse” and not a fall from a bed, according to the probable cause document.
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Springer is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on November 26 and was sent to Bucks County prison after his arraignment Wednesday.
Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
