A man from Lawrence Park Township reported to the police that a 3-month-old boy, who was hospitalized for a head injury in late August, had fallen from his arms and hit the floor, as stated by investigators.
A physician at a Pittsburgh hospital, along with medical records, indicated that the child’s injuries were more severe than those typically sustained in an accident, as detailed in a criminal complaint submitted last week.
Curtis R. Finn, 32, the father of the child, is set to appear in court on November 27 for his preliminary hearing. This follows his arraignment on November 5, where he faced felony charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children, as well as misdemeanor charges of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.
Following his arraignment, court records indicate that Finn was released on an unsecured bond.
Lawrence Park police were alerted to the injuries of a 3-month-old after receiving a report from an official at the Erie County Office of Children and Youth on Aug. 23, indicating that a minor child with a traumatic injury was being treated at UPMC Hamot. A child was subsequently transported to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC for urgent surgical intervention, as detailed by the investigating officer in the affidavit of probable cause.
A Lawrence Park officer and an OCY official visited Finn’s Priestly Avenue home to talk to him. Finn explained that he was holding the child when the child pushed against his chest, threw his head back, and kicked his feet up, which led to Finn losing control of the child. According to the affidavit, Finn reported that the child toppled backwards and struck his head on the floor.
Authorities reported that they have examined medical documentation from UPMC Hamot and Children’s Hospital. A doctor’s report on the child’s injuries indicated that the boy experienced a traumatic brain injury, subdural hemorrhage, and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, necessitating neurosurgery. The investigating officer noted in the affidavit that the boy sustained a skull fracture that spanned from one side of his head to the other.
The doctor observed that the child had blood surrounding his spinal cord, indicating that such injuries typically arise from extreme flexing or bending of the spinal cord, as stated in the affidavit.
The doctor dismissed any possibility of accidental injury as a cause for the brain trauma and determined that the child’s injuries indicated inflicted harm, as stated by the investigating officer in the affidavit.