17 year old Antonio Brown of 420 Pine Street has been charged with Cruelty Toward Child for an incident on November 22.

Antonio Brown originally reported he was babysitting his 6 month old baby while the mother went to the store.  He stated he heard the baby crying and found the child had fallen from a bed.  He called the 18 year old mother home and the baby was taken to the hospital about an hour later.

Hospital staff called Public Safety for what appeared to be child abuse.  The baby had a palm print still visible on the left side of her face.  The baby suffered from a ruptured left eardrum, a fractured right arm and a broken left femur.  (The femur or thigh bone, is the largest and strongest bone in the body. Because of this and its protective surrounding muscle, the shaft requires a large amount of force to fracture.)

The baby was transferred to Tallahassee Memorial and had a partial body cast.  It is unknown if hearing will ever be restored in her left ear.

Public Safety Investigator Mark Esquivel and James Dollar interviewed 17 year old Antonio Brown again on Tuesday.  Brown admitted his original story was not true.  Brown stated that the baby was crying and he got frustrated.  He admitted to striking the baby causing the baby's injuries.  (It would be our assumption the baby flew across the room and struck something to cause injuries this severe.-LS)

Public Safety Investigator Mark Esquivel stated other charges are pending presentment to the Grand Jury.