Wanda English Burnett - Editor

Charges were filed Monday, August 21 against Barrett W. Brown, 23, of Napoleon, on two counts of Battery of a Child Causing Bodily Injury.

The charges stem from an incident that occurred August 12, when his infant daughter was taken to Decatur County Memorial Hospital in Greensburg. The child was then transferred to Riley Children’s Hospital, where the determination was made that she had sustained a number of injuries.

After an investigation by Indiana State Police, the case was presented to Prosecutor Ric Hertel, who filed the charges from the evidence given.

Information from a Probable Cause Affidavit filed in the Ripley County Clerk’s Office noted that the infant had a fracture to the left leg femur bone, multiple rib fractures that were in different stages of healing, and a “probable greenstick fracture of the right forearm area.” It further noted that the child has a “possible injury to the lower right leg.”

A physical exam of the infant indicated she had also sustained an injury to her inside upper lip area.
Dr. Laskey, a forensic pediatrician with the Clarion Health Group, Indianapolis, did an examination on the infant and reviewed the skeletal survey. The doctor said the leg injury was caused “by a significant amount of force to cause the femur bone to break and be displaced.” The doctor further described other injuries to be consistent with repeated episodes of inflicted trauma.

In the Probable Cause Affidavit Brown admitted he had been changing a messy diaper on his daughter on August 12 at 4:00 a.m. when he became frustrated and grabbed her leg in an attempt to gain control. He said the baby was “kicking and crying.” He further noted that he pushed her leg and heard a “pop” and the child began screaming. He admitted he was responsible for other injuries because “he was too rough.”

Brown said his wife had told him he was bruising the baby by squeezing too tight. He told police that since the birth of the three month old child he had been holding her mouth shut to keep her from crying.
Prosecutor Ric Hertel noted that the infant was in a cast from her waist down and it was a “sad case.”
John Watson was appointed counsel for Brown with a trial date set for March 20, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. His bail was set at $50,000 at the August 21 hearing and he was incarcerated in the Ripley County Jail. The child is in protective custody.

This isn’t Brown’s first brush with hurting children. Investigators found that Brown was convicted in May of 2002 on Child Battery charges on his five-month-old son in Jackson County.