This week, a 28-year-old Indiana father was taken into custody on charges of physically abusing his 6-month-old child. The youngster was hospitalized and had fractures in both arms and legs, which the father attributed to “rough diaper changes” and tight swaddling.
On Monday, Tristan Dean Gerhardt was placed under arrest and charged with one count of felony domestic assault causing serious bodily harm to an individual under the age of fourteen and one count of criminal neglect of a dependent causing serious bodily harm.
According to a Westfield Police Department case record, on July 29, 2024, officers got information on a “wanted person,” named as Gerhardt in the report, who was found at his residence in the 1200 block of Scarlet Street. Around 11:19 p.m., police carried out the execution of an arrest warrant and successfully brought Gerhardt inside.
In response to a baby who was allegedly the victim of child abuse, authorities were called to Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital on May 1, 2024, according to the report. A plethora of ailments befell the 6-month-old infant, including shattered bones in the lower left leg, upper and lower right leg, upper and lower left arm, and upper and lower right arm.
Additionally, it seemed as though the youngster had scarring where the lips and gums met, a condition that physicians claimed was probably caused by something being forced into the baby’s mouth and had existed since the victim was around three weeks old.
Investigators were informed by the victim’s doctors that the majority of the infant’s bone fractures seemed to be classic metaphyseal lesions (CMLs), also known as “corner” or “bucket handle” fractures because they mostly occur near growth plates in immature bones and are strongly suggestive of physical abuse.
The victim’s non-accidental injuries, according to the victim’s doctors, are usually caused by “forceful yanking, pulling, or jerking” that results in “tearing at the end of the bone.”
Gerhardt looked after the child during the day because she works, according to what the mother of the child allegedly told authorities. According to the complaint, Gerhardt informed investigators that he may have caused the injuries by firmly swaddling the infant and by doing some “rough diaper changes.”
Doctors, however, allegedly informed police that the victim’s injuries could not have been caused by touching a newborn on a daily basis or even by “rough diaper changes.”
“If a person changes an infant’s diaper in a way that breaks his legs because of the pulling/jerking they are doing; they may call this a ‘rough diaper change.’ I would call this abusive,” a doctor stated in court records. “If CML fractures on an infant were caused by a parent changing his diaper, those actions would be abusive.”
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Gerhardt allegedly informed the victim’s mother in a troubling message that he had already spoken with child services after the event.
In his virtual appearance on Tuesday, Magistrate Judge Gregory J. Garrison determined that there was probable cause for Gerhardt’s arrest and set a $150,000 bond. As of Thursday afternoon, he was still being held at the Hamilton County Detention Center.
October 7, 2024, was set aside for an omnibus hearing.
