WOONSOCKET, RI (WHDH) — A Woonsocket man has been arrested and charged with child abuse after a 5-month-old was found with numerous injuries.
On Sunday, Woonsocket Police responded to a home on East Street following a report that an infant had fallen off a couch. Fire and Rescue teams, which had also responded, were attending to a child that was unconscious and unresponsive.
Officials say the child was suffering from several bruises to his face as well as a hematoma.
Detectives investigated after finding the injuries suspicious and determined that Christopher Bernier, 25 of Woonsocket, had slapped the child several times.
Bernier, a roommate of the child’s parents who was babysitting the infant, said he had slapped the child because the baby would not stop crying and he “lost it.”
Bernier was charged with first-degree child abuse. He is expected to be arraigned Monday.
The infant was brought to Landmark Medical Center and was transferred to Hasbro Children’s Hospital. His condition is not known.
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