A Lawrence County woman was arrested Tuesday after investigators say she battered and injured her boyfriend’s 23-month-old son in Martin County.
A trooper with the Indiana State Police was contacted Tuesday by the Indiana Department of Child Services to assist with investigating a child at a daycare center in Padanaram that reportedly had suffered numerous bruises and bites.
According to child care workers who had initially reported the injuries to the DCS, the 23-month-old child had sustained injuries sometime between last Friday afternoon, November 10th and Monday morning November 13th.
Police learned that the only people the child was with during that time was his father, Dakota Padgett, and his girlfriend, 29-year-old Chelsee New of Bedford.
Through the course of the investigation, state police and the DCS learned that New had babysat the infant child during the weekend, and had struck and bit him as a disciplinary measure.
New was placed under arrest and charged with Level 5 Felony counts of Battery on a Minor and Neglect of a Dependent as well as a Level 3 Felony count of Criminal Confinement.
The infant was taken into custody by the Department of Child Services and was transported to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis for evaluation and treatment.
