A Blackford County man charged over severe injuries suffered by his then-12-day-old son has entered a guilty plea after striking a deal with prosecutors.
Nathan Douglas John Frederick, now 28, was arrested last September after his infant son had been treated for injuries – including a broken collarbone, bleeding on the brain and ligament injuries to his spine – at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.
Frederick at first tried to convince Blackford County sheriff’s deputies the injuries had been inflicted by his family’s dog, He later acknowledged he could have been responsible for some of his son’s injuries.
Authorities believed the baby was hurt last Aug. 15, a dozen days after the baby’s birth.
At a recent Blackford Circuit Court hearing, Frederick pleaded to neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury.
Under the terms of a plea agreement, a second charge – domestic battery to a person under the age of 14, a Level 3 felony with a maximum 16-year sentence – would be dismissed.
Court records in Mercer County, Ohio, reflect Frederick was convicted of domestic violence and attempted abduction there in 2016.
Blackford father charged in newborn's abuse pleads guilty
A Blackford County man charged over severe injuries suffered by newborn son has entered a guilty plea after striking a deal with prosecutors.
www.poughkeepsiejournal.com

Frederick – who initially claimed the injuries had been inflicted by his family’s dog – later acknowledged he could have caused his son’s injuries by “swaddling” him too tightly and picking him up too quickly without supporting his neck.
The nose injury was a “rug burn” inflicted when he “pushed on (the baby) too hard” while swaddling the infant, the Montpelier man said.
Frederick reportedly told an investigator when he gets “depressed or angry and overwhelmed... it takes me over as another person.”
He also indicated he had not been taking prescribed medications apparently related to his behavior.
Frederick’s wife at first also said their dog had jumped on the baby, causing the injuries, but later admitted she had not seen that happen, Heflin wrote.
She also acknowledged her husband became “upset and frustrated... when babies cry,” a report said.
Nathan Frederick was interviewed by the chief deputy on Aug. 27 at a jail in Mercer County, Ohio, where he faced unrelated charges.
The father said he was “irritated” during his Aug. 15 dealings with his newborn son. He also reportedly said he did not “want his life ruined or (to be) looked at like he is a horrible person” over “a mistake.”
Asked about Ohio probation officials’ report that he had recently tested positive for meth use, Frederick told Heflin that “his drug dealer must have put methamphetamine in his marijuana.”
The Blackford County man acknowledged concocting the story about the dog’s role in the incident, and telling his spouse to repeat it.
Heflin reviewed a phone conversation, recorded at the Ohio jail, Frederick had with his wife immediately after their interview.
In it, Frederick reportedly apologized for making his spouse “lie for him,” and said he didn’t tell her how he had hurt the baby because he was “scared.”
When his spouse confronted him about repeatedly telling others he didn’t want the baby, Frederick maintained he “only said that because he was mad.”
In another recorded conversation on Aug. 28, Frederick’s wife told him she was upset he had not told her the truth, and couldn’t believe what he had done to their child.
“Frederick gets angry and say, “You act like I threw him against a wall, “ Heflin wrote.
In one phone conversation while in the Ohio jail, Frederick “screams and curses” at his seven-year-old son, an affidavit said.
Blackford father charged with breaking 12-day-old son's collarbone, inflicting other injuries
A Blackford County man faces criminal charges over severe injuries – including a broken collarbone – suffered by his then-12-day-old son.
www.cincinnati.com
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