Southern Indiana man accused of brutally beating baby

He's facing alleged neglect charges

(Story Courtesy of Our Friends At WDRB) A southern Indiana man has been arrested after police say he confessed to brutally beating an infant, causing a number of injuries over a period of several days. 

According to court documents, 28-year-old Jonathan Fleming is in custody.

The investigation began on the morning of July 22, when a 49-day-old baby was brought into the emergency room at Clark Memorial Hospital by his mother. The baby had a broken hip, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The baby's mother initially told police that her fiancé, Fleming, was feeding the baby on the couch at home when the baby rolled off the couch. She said she grabbed the infant by the ankle to break his fall, and when she pulled abruptly, she heard a "loud pop" and bones "grinding."

She told police that she did not call 911, instead waiting an hour before using a rideshare app to get a ride to the hospital.

But according to court documents, the officer questioning her about the injures did not find her explanation feasible, or "consistent with the medical evidence." When told that "she was not being honest with investigators," she allegedly broke down and admitted to making the story up because she was afraid she'd lose custody of the child. 

According to court documents, she then told officers that Fleming was the only one in the room when the baby was injured, and that he pulled the baby's leg.

Police eventually executed a search warrant on Fleming's apartment on Viking Court, off Ewing Lane, in Jeffersonville. They also seized Fleming's phone, as well as the phone belonging to the child's mother.

Investigators say conditions inside the apartment were unsanitary.

"The apartment itself, in terms of cleanliness, was filthy, with cats and trash scattered throughout," a probable cause affidavit said. "This was not a viable environment for the safety of a child. The apartment was documented in its entirety with photos to illustrate the habitat of which I felt was detrimental to adults, let alone a newborn infant."

Additionally, investigators say they found "disturbing" content when examining Fleming's recent Google searches. According to court documents, some of those searches included the following phrases:

• "Baby's leg popped out of place"
• "Babies leg made a popping noise"
• "Do babies remember if you're mean to them"
• "Why do newborns cry when you touch their private parts"
• "Can a baby be in so much pain it poops itself"
• "Can a baby sleep if it has a knot on its head"
• "What does sbs cause"
• "What are signs of shaken baby syndrome"
• "Why do I hate babies"
• "Why do baby sounds anger me"
• "Why do I get angry when I see a baby"

Police say pediatric specialists determined that the infant not only had a broken femur from his recent injury, but also had trauma consistent with a number of broken ribs that were in the process of healing, as well as leg bone fractures that were in the process of healing.

According to court documents, when the mother was told about these injuries, she "rolled her eyes." She also refused to allow health care workers to place a harness on the child to stabilize the hip fracture, or administer pain medication to the child, telling health care workers, "the baby can take it," referring to the pain.

At that point, Child Protective Services took emergency custody of the child, according to court documents.

Police say when they confronted Fleming about the child's injuries, he confessed to several incidents in which he may have caused injuries to the baby since it was born.

According to court documents, he confessed to the following incidents:

• He said he got frustrated when the child got hiccups, so he "squeezed the baby out of frustration," by pressing the baby up against his chest until the baby "made strange noises" or cried.
• He said on one occasion when the baby pulled his ear, he forcefully threw him into his crib, and the baby gave him "an odd look."
• In what he said was one of the "worst cases" of abuse, he dropped the baby on his back in the bathtub.
• He admitted to the July 22 incident in which the baby's hip was broken. In this case, he said he "snatched the baby up" by his leg because he was frustrated by a lack of sleep.

Police said Fleming gave a two-hour interview, "where he expressed his frustrations with the baby crying and was able to illustrate with the aide of a life-size baby prop."

Fleming is being held in the Clark County Detention Center. He's facing two counts of battery resulting in serious bodily injury to a person less than 14 years old and three counts of neglect of a dependent. 

Fleming was in court for his initial hearing on Thursday. The judge upheld Fleming's $100,000 cash bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for August 31.

He is scheduled to go to trail on January 10, 2023