CALIFORNIA, PENNSYLVANIA – A man has been accused of a “pattern of abuse” by physicians after allegedly breaking the leg of his three-month-old son.
Demetrick Ray Montgomery Sr., age 39, initially said to police that his son had fallen while he tried to change the boy’s diaper and that’s what caused the leg injury, according to the Observer-Reporter. Montgomery said it was from a previous fall that happened before 3 p.m. on May 17.
According to court records, Mr. Montgomery and his wife failed to bring their child into the hospital until the following day.
At around 2:30 a.m. the next day, the parents noticed the boy was swelling and in serious pain during a diaper change.
The pain and swelling got worse by 5 a.m., and they still didn’t take him in to get medical treatment, police said.
In Other News: Unraveling the Tragic Tale of a Family's Ill-fated Quest for Off-Grid Living: Autopsy reveals teen weighed only 40 pounds
At around 4 p.m. that day, the parents took their infant son to an express care center connected to Washington Hospital. The parents were told their son needed to be examined at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
An ambulance was offered to the couple, but they said they’d drive the baby there themselves.
Later that day police were called to check in on the baby after the parents didn’t show up at Children’s in a timely manner, according to police.
An officer arrived at the parent’s home and discovered that they and the child were still there at around 7:15 p.m.
According to the officer, the parents put the baby in their car but didn’t show up at Children’s until after 9 p.m. at night.
It was determined by medical staff that the child’s broken legs couldn’t have been the result of a fall.
The hospital also discovered older bone fractures on the infant’s arm and ribs that were already starting to heal.
On June 28, Mr. Montgomery admitted he heard a pop sound after grabbing the baby boy by the leg while he was in sole custody of the child, court records state.
The father was arraigned by District Judge Curtis Thompson on Friday and was sent to the Washington County jail on $35,000 bail.
Demetrick Montgomery faces several charges, including aggravated assault of a child, endangering the welfare of children, and simple assault. However, the infant boy’s mother has not been charged.
