In mid-March, the Department of Children and Families received a report that a 7-month-old boy had sunken eyes, loose skin and his ribs were showing. They were also told that the baby had a rash on several areas of his body.
Detective Frank Scala interviewed the child’s mother, Hailey Amanda Johnson, 22, at her home a day after the incident was reported. She said since the child’s birth, her son has had diaper rashes. Johnson said she changed the diapers and used medication to treat the rash. She said the rash would go away for a while, only to re-appear.
In February, Johnson said she went to her doctor, who gave her a cream and told her the rash was an infection. She said the cream worked for a time, but the rash returned.
Johnson said the bloody rash spread and she did not get a chance to take the child back to the doctor. Johnson said she feeds her son regularly and he has stomach problems. She said she changed the formula, which helped.
After the interview, Scala talked with a representative from the Child Protection Team in Gainesville. The representative said she spoke with a nurse at UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, where the child was taken, and he lost 26 percent of his weight since his February doctor’s visit. Scala was told the child was diagnosed with a skin disorder and it’s possible he had an infection from the rash. The child has since been released from Shands and placed in foster care. Officials said the child is doing better.
The baby also had a flat head, which is believed to have come from lying down for an extended period of time without any interaction.
At the conclusion of his investigation, Johnson was arrested.
Woman arrested for child neglect when infant found malnourished
The Department of Children and Families received a report that a 7-month-old boy had sunken eyes, loose skin and his ribs were showing.
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