Maryland Father Said He Heard a 'Pop' When Changing His 6-Week-Old Son's Diaper, But Now He's Accused of Breaking the Newborn's Leg
July 31 2023, Published 6:00 p.m. ET
A Maryland man allegedly abused his 6-week-old son so badly he fractured the child's bones, RadarOnline.com has learned.
On July 19, Keith Patrick Lewis, 33, and his girlfriend brought their newborn boy to Frederick Health Hospital for leg pain, according to Front Page Detectives.
When speaking with hospital staff, Lewis said he heard a “pop” in the baby’s left hip while he was changing his diaper, authorities said. The boy had been crying and fussing ever since.
Staff X-rayed the infant and found he had a fracture in his left femur and right clavicle, officials said. He also had a small scabbed-over scratch on his cheek, which the parents said he did himself.
Lewis also told detectives that on July 5, the infant fell off the bed in his parents’ room after Lewis laid him down and turned around to put his contact lens in, The Frederick News-Post reported. He said he immediately picked up the baby, who stopped crying after a couple bounces.
Another woman that lives with the family told police she heard the baby crying upstairs, followed by a “loud thud,” then harder crying that suddenly stopped, officials said.
She asked Lewis if he dropped the baby, but he told her he dropped his mug, court documents show.
The baby was transferred to Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., and additional exams indicated the baby also had a healing right posterior rib fracture and a faint bruise on his left knee, authorities said.
Medical staff said “a tremendous amount of pressure would have been exerted on [the baby’s] femur to break it in the way [Lewis] had described,” The News-Post reported. They documented the baby’s injuries as “non-accidental trauma.”
Detectives asked Lewis about drug or alcohol abuse and he said he didn’t use drugs or take prescription medication, authorities said.
A mandated supervised drug screening was completed by the Department of Social Services, which showed Lewis to have THC, an amphetamine and Subutex, which is used to treat opioid addiction, in his system, court records show.
Lewis was arrested and charged with first- and second-degree child abuse, police said.
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On July 24, he was released on $10,000 bail and he must stay away from the victim’s address and not contact the victim or state’s witnesses, officials said.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 17.
Officials did not provide an update on the infant’s condition.
