Charges of aggravated battery, neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, battery resulting in serious bodily injury and battery on a person younger than 14 have been filed against a Hobart man involving an 8-week-old infant who suffered a broken femur and broken rib.
John F. Dyehouse III, 18, of the 900 block of West 37th Avenue, was charged in Lake Superior Court. He has a formal appearance on July 30 before Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Ross Boswell.
The baby’s mother told police on July 21 she brought her daughter to St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart because she noticed bruises on the girl’s forehead, temples and abdomen.
One of the emergency room doctors determined the child had a broken left femur and broken left rib. The baby was transferred to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis because of the seriousness of her injuries.
Dyehouse told police he twisted the baby’s leg and heard a pop when he was changing her diaper, records state.
Police visited the couple’s mobile home to check on the welfare of Dyehouse’s 1-year-old son, who had a large bruise on his head, records state. Other adults at the residence were intoxicated. The infant’s mother told police that Dyehouse’s son got the bruise from falling while learning how to walk.
A representative of the Indiana Department of Child Services took custody of both children. The DCS representative told police on July 22 that Riley Hospital personnel found internal injuries on the boy, according to court records.
The most serious of the charges is a Level 3 felony, which is punishable by three to 16 years.
Ruth Ann Krause is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
