WPBN: According to police, a father in Missouri is being charged with child abuse after he physically abused his 2-month-old daughter, resulting in 14 fractures across her body.
Richard A. Leonard, 20, was taken into custody by the Lee’s Summit Police Department on Wednesday. The probable cause arrest document states that after Leonard and his wife took the daughter to the doctor, the doctor advised them to take the baby to the hospital due to bruising on her body.
The doctor reported the abuse to the Department of Family Services hotline when the couple declined to take her.
To check on the girl’s wellbeing, police visited the couple’s house in the Kansas City suburb of Lee’s Summit. According to the police, the mother answered the door while holding the happy child. Around 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Leonard and his spouse then drove the girl to the hospital.
According to reports, doctors discovered 14 bone fractures on her fingers, ribs, arms, and legs. Her back, face, and shoulder were all bruised.
At first, Leonard said he tripped and dropped the girl. According to the affidavit, he then claimed that he tripped and fell on top of her after being confronted with the severity of his injuries.
According to authorities, doctors said that would account for some of the injuries, but not all of them because they were spread across the body and at different stages of healing. Detectives pointed out that medical personnel reported that the injuries were caused by “classic abuse” rather than accidents.
Leonard and the mother had been dating since November 2023, got married in May, and had the girl in October, the mother informed police. Although she knew she hadn’t done anything to the child, she didn’t believe Leonard was “capable” of harming her.
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Leonard’s mother reportedly mentioned that he was placed in foster care after experiencing abuse as a child. Leonard was subsequently questioned by detectives and allegedly confessed to molesting the girl, V1 according to court filings.
‘The lack of sleep, constant crying during diaper changes and his own anger issues had become a problem resulting in abuse of V1,” cops stated. “The abuse came in the form of being too forceful during dressing, swaddling, and diaper changes. He explained how her hands would get caught up during dressing her and how she resisted/squirmed during diaper changes and swaddling.”
During those jobs, Leonard allegedly acknowledged exerting “more force than necessary” and “immediately felt bad when she reacted accordingly.” According to the affidavit, he also said that he had recently turned to the behavior of pulling out his hair as a coping mechanism for stress that he had experienced as a child.
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According to the affidavit, Leonard also claimed that “there was just too much going on at once” and that the stress was increasing. His tension was increased by the fact that the couple had just moved to a new house.
“The fact that V1 would always scream when he tried to hold her is what upset him the most,” the police noted.
Leonard was arrested by officers and sent to the Jackson County Correctional Facility, where he has now secured a bond of $50,000. His court appearance is set for Monday. While on bond, a judge prohibited him from communicating with his wife or child.
According to police, DFS took the girl into custody.
