A Madisonville woman has been charged with child abuse in connection to injuries a 3-month old child sustained while under her care.
Madisonville Police report detectives were contacted Friday afternoon in reference to a suspected child abuse investigation. When a detective arrived at the emergency room at Baptist Health Deaconess Hospital it was found a 3-month old child had a broken arm.
During an interview with the child’s mother, police say it was discovered she had picked the child up from the babysitter’s residence about 20 minutes prior to arriving at the hospital. The child’s mother stated that when she arrived home and attempted to remove her infant from the car seat, she immediately noticed the child’s arm was injured.
According to police, detectives interviewed the babysitter, 25-year old Angel Steele who they say originally stated she had no knowledge the child was injured, but later stated the child did fall from the couch at her residence. Police said through the course of the interview, Steele continued to state she was unaware the child’s arm was injured, however, a search of her cell phone browser showed she looked up “what does a broken arm look like?” Police noted the child was in Steele’s custody for about nine hours with the broken arm before being picked up the the mother.
Steele was arrested at the Madisonville Police Department for first-degree criminal abuse. She was then transported to the Hopkins County Jail.
