Dec 12, 2018 2 min read

A Franklin Township father allegedly told police he intentionally dropped his son three times after the infant got sick and wouldn’t stop crying.

Richard A. Riley, 28, is in Greene County Prison on $150,000 bond, charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and endangering the welfare of children.

State police said medical records in the case showed the infant, 4 weeks old at the time, had several days of seizure activity in September.

An MRI of the boy’s brain showed a subdural hematoma and a “very significant” malacia, or softening of brain tissue, police said. The baby also had a rib fracture, and police noted the healing of that fracture corresponds to the timing of the seizures and brain injuries.

When authorities interviewed Riley this Monday, he reportedly told them he cared for the infant himself in early September because his girlfriend was in the hospital.

“Riley related the formula he was feeding to his baby was apparently making him sick and he began to cry. During (that) time, Riley explained he intentionally dropped the baby three times while they were inside their apartment. After he dropped the baby, (the infant) fell silent and went to sleep,” wrote Trooper Joseph Popielarcheck in the affidavit of probable cause filed in the case.

Popielarcheck indicated in court documents the baby’s prognosis for recovery was “unclear” and the boy’s “brain MRI is concerning for volume loss.”

“If (the baby) returns to the same violent environment, he is at risk for more serious injury or death,” Popielarcheck wrote of the conclusion reached by medical experts.

Riley was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Lee Watson and faces a preliminary hearing at 11 a.m. Dec. 19.