Infant suffers brain bleed, extensive bruising, 18-year-old Anderson man charged

ANDERSON, Ind. (WISH) – The father of a 2-month-old infant has been charged after the child suffered extensive injuries.

According to court documents, 18-year-old Justin Dickey has been charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in serious injury, domestic battery and criminal recklessness.

Court documents show that in early November, officers learned that a 2-month old was being treated at an Indianapolis hospital because the infant was “covered in bruises.” Officers also learned the child sustained the injuries at an apartment in the 2100 block of Alexandria Pike in Anderson, the home of the child’s father, Dickey.

Following this discovery, officers interviewed Dickey at the apartment where he initially said the child’s injuries were the result of him dropping the baby girl in his bedroom, documents state.

On Nov. 4, officers interviewed Dickey at the Anderson Police Department where he changed his story, stating that his first version was inaccurate. Instead of having lost control and then falling on the child, he said the infant would not stop crying, would not go to sleep and that he gripped her too hard and was unsure of what to do.

Documents state he said the infant had slipped out of his hands and fell into the crib where she landed on two metal poles. Additionally, Dickey said he remembers blacking out, hitting the child’s bottom too hard and squeezing her face too hard.

After a medical examination, it was determined that the child suffered extensive bruising, fractures to bones in her back and right leg and bleeding in the brain.

Police believe the injuries to the infant happened sometime between 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 31 and 11 a.m. on Nov. 1.

Dickey was arrested on New Year’s Eve and is currently being held in the Madison County Jail on a $20,000 bond.