PEORIA, IL – Authorities have charged a 24-year-old Illinois father after his newborn daughter was hospitalized with serious injuries, including three separate brain bleeds, in what police allege was a case of child abuse.
Gabriel King was arrested after prosecutors said his infant daughter was left in his care on June 2 and suffered numerous injuries that medical personnel later described as life-threatening and unmistakably abusive. He faces a felony charge of aggravated battery to a child and is being held without bond pending trial.
The case came to light when an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services caseworker reported to police in Bartonville that a baby had been taken to the hospital with severe injuries. The reporting caseworker had learned from the child’s mother that the infant had been healthy and uninjured before being left alone with King.
According to prosecutors, on the day of the incident, King contacted the child’s mother while she was at work, saying their newborn would not stop crying. When she returned home, she found the baby screaming more intensely than usual and noticed bruising while changing the child’s diaper. Concerned, the couple sought immediate medical attention.
Doctors discovered the newborn had suffered three separate brain bleeds, a fractured upper arm, and extensive bruising across her body. Medical staff told law enforcement the nature and pattern of the injuries were consistent with non-accidental trauma, raising immediate suspicions of child abuse.
Authorities said that during questioning, King indicated he became overwhelmed and overstimulated while trying to care for his daughter. He reportedly told investigators that he may have handled the infant roughly and admitted to incidents in which he grabbed her arm. King also claimed he could not fully remember all details of what took place that day.
In court Tuesday, a judge granted the prosecution’s request to keep King in custody ahead of trial, citing the severity of the allegations and the evidence of abuse provided by medical professionals.
Officials say the investigation remains active as they collect further evidence and seek to clarify the full circumstances surrounding the child’s injuries.
No additional details about the child’s current medical status or the family’s future living arrangements were immediately available.