Indiana Man Arrested After New Girlfriend’s Baby Boy Suffers ‘Traumatic Brain Injury,' Authorities Say

A man in Indiana is under arrest in connection to his new girlfriend’s baby son suffering an “acute traumatic brain injury” that left him on a ventilator and feeding tube, authorities said.

On April 6, Andrew Michael Scott, 19, was booked into the Delaware County jail on a preliminary felony charge of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious body injury, The Star Press reported.

On March 17, the Delaware County Sheriff's Department opened an investigation after the toddler, who is the son of the suspect’s ex-girlfriend, was checked into IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie and had to be airlifted to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis.

Scott claimed to detectives the boy was napping but began “screaming bloody murder” and was rapidly blinking his eyes, states an affidavit obtained by The Star Press.

The toddler, who was in “extremely critical” condition, the report states, was rushed into emergency surgery for a craniotomy. A physician noted the child had a “near-fatal, acute traumatic brain injury” as well as fractures in his back that were “non-accidental/inflicted,” according to authorities.

Doctors had to place the boy on a ventilator and feeding tube.

The affidavit alleges Scott had been dating the child’s mother for around two months, and during their relationship the woman and others talked to him about how he “aggressively” handled her son.

Witnesses claimed to investigators they noticed bruising on the boy and his eyes had ruptured blood vessels after Scott and the mother began seeing each other, the affidavit states.

The boy, witnesses said, didn’t like Scott, who allegedly admitted to "disciplining [the child] in the past, including spanking," according to the affidavit.

Scott faces up to 40 years in prison if found guilty of the neglect charge, according to The Star Press.

He was being held on a $50,000 bond.