Cokeburg man charged in child abuse case
A Cokeburg man was charged Tuesday with putting a 3-month-old boy in a bear hug strong enough to fracture the infant’s ribs this year in his residence.
The allegations led to state police filing charges of aggravated assault and child endangerment against the suspect, Nicholas Arthur Benson, 28, of Lincoln Street, court records show.
Police were called Feb. 2 by the child advocacy center at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and told an infant was being treated there for child abuse, charging documents state.
The child’s mother, who was not charged in the case, told police the infant had been spitting up blood, but that she hadn’t witnessed anyone causing the boy trauma, police said.
A physician reported seeing bruising on the boy’s forehead and healing rib fractures caused by a “squeezing incident,” police noted in the affidavit.
Police said Benson eventually admitted to putting the child in a bear hug. The hug lasted for about three minutes in January in an attempt to stop the infant from crying, charging documents state.
Benson, who also was charged with simple assault, was released Tuesday on $100,000 unsecured bond set by District Judge Eric Glenn Porter.