A Hobart man was charged with neglect and battery after doctors determined his girlfriend's 5-month-old daughter suffered severe injuries from being shaken, records allege.
Ian M. Himes, 26, was caring for the infant when she became unresponsive Jan. 3 at her Hobart home and he called his girlfriend because of her condition, Lake Criminal Court records state.
The girlfriend told him to call 911, and medics took the baby to St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart.
The child later was transferred to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, where doctors determined she had suffered abusive head trauma consistent with being shaken and also had an older rib fracture that showed signs of healing, court records say.
Himes appeared to be nervous and sweaty during his initial statements to police, records allege. He claimed the baby was crying and went limp when he picked her up.
He agreed to go to the Indiana State Police post in Lowell on Jan. 17 to take a polygraph test and initially continued to claim he was innocent, records say.
When police told him the test showed he was being deceptive, he asked if he could tell his girlfriend goodbye and subsequently claimed he accidentally dropped the baby while he was making a bottle for her, documents allege.
Himes said the baby hit her head during the fall and went stiff, so he shook her in an attempt to wake her up, records allege. He denied knowing why the baby had a fractured rib. He told police he didn't mean to hurt the child and said he wasn't initially honest about what happened because "his family would not like him anymore and 'he won't have nobody,'" records state.
A doctor told police an accidental fall was not likely to cause the type of injuries the baby suffered, records say.
Shaking could cause the injuries, but would require enough force that a reasonable caregiver would clearly recognize as dangerous to the baby, records show.
