A Missouri father is facing child abuse charges after he roughly handled his 2-month-old daughter — causing her to suffer 14 fractures throughout her body, cops say.
The Lee’s Summit Police Department arrested 20-year-old Richard A. Leonard on Wednesday. According to the probable cause arrest affidavit, Leonard and his wife took the girl to a doctor’s appointment and were told they should take the infant to the hospital because of bruising on her body. But the couple refused to take her and the doctor called the Department of Family Services hotline to report the abuse.
Cops went to the couple’s home in Lee’s Summit, a suburb of Kansas City, for a welfare check on the girl. Police say the mother held the child, who seemed content, as she answered the door. Leonard and his wife then took the girl to the hospital at around 8 p.m. Wednesday. Doctors reportedly found 14 bone fractures on her arms, legs, ribs and fingers. She also had bruises on her shoulder, face and back.
Leonard at first claimed he dropped the girl after tripping. Confronted with the extent of injuries, he then said he fell on top of her after tripping, per the affidavit. Doctors told police that would explain some of the injuries but not all of them as they were throughout the body and in various stages of healing, according to cops. Medical staff described the injuries as stemming from “classic abuse” and not accidents, detectives noted.