Alabama man arrested after 3-month-old daughter is found with 22 broken ribs in 'different stages of healing'
SHELBY COUNTY, ALABAMA: An Alabama man was arrested and charged with child abuse after his infant daughter was found with multiple broken bones, including 22 ribs.
Dashun Montae Bush, 19, of Wilsonville, came under police scanner after his three-month-old daughter was rushed to the hospital on December 9 by her mother, according to AL.com.
The mother and other family members had noticed that the young girl was not well and their fears were confirmed when doctors found that she was suffering from a broken arm, a broken leg, and 22 broken ribs in three different stages of healing.
The doctors subsequently notified Calera police of a possible case of child abuse, causing the department to launch an investigation against Bush. "That’s a lot of injuries in a short period of time," said Calera police chief Sean Lemley about the infant's horrific injuries.
It was uncovered that Bush had abused the child on multiple occasions, following which he was arrested on December 23 and charged with aggravated child abuse. He was booked into the Shelby County Jail on December 30, and released the same day after posting a $60,000 bond.
He has been ordered to not have any contact with the victim. Court records do not yet list an attorney for the 19-year-old, and a date for his first court appearance has not yet been finalized.
The infant is now in the custody of the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) and it is unclear if she will be placed back into the mother's custody. She is the couple's only child.
Lemley told reporters it was a very difficult case to work on because of the gruesome nature of the injuries inflicted on the three-month-old girl.
"Our job is to take care of that victim," he said. "It's a bad case."