SAXONBURG — A borough man is accused of burning a former girlfriend’s 20-month-old daughter, possibly with a cigarette, authorities said.

Cody Storm Vaughan, 26, while baby-sitting the infant at his home, also struck, slapped and bit the girl, according to investigators, and allowed her to fall headlong from a bed onto the floor.

The suspected child abuse in June left the infant hospitalized with numerous injuries, including burn marks, a black eye, split lip, cuts and scrapes.

Saxonburg police Wednesday arrested Vaughan on felony assault and other charges stemming from the three-month investigation.

But the defendant’s mother, Paula Vaughan, defended her son and denied the allegations.

“There was no intentional harm put to that child,” she said this morning.

The investigation began June 22 after Butler County detectives received a ChildLine report of suspected abuse at the Butler Road home where Vaughan lives with his mother. The county’s Children and Youth Services agency also was notified.

Investigators believe the girl was injured June 21 when she was in the suspect’s care.

Saxonburg police Lt. Kevin Stiles, the lead investigator, said the child and her mother, who lives in Valencia, stayed at Vaughan’s house between June 20 and 22.

During that time, police said, the mother and the defendant were dating.

While he was alone baby-sitting the infant, Vaughan allegedly burned her.

Police said the suspected burning left red circular marks on the child’s stomach, forearm and right buttock. A physician at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh examined the girl and found the marks “consistent with being burned by a cigarette,” Stiles said Thursday.

Court documents described some of the other injuries — a dark bruise on the inside corner of the right eye, and abrasions or scabs on the upper lip and left foot.

The girl also had a bite mark on one of her forearms, Stiles said.

Authorities subsequently determined those injuries were the result of “physical abuse” at the hands of Vaughan, documents said.

The child’s maternal grandmother noticed the injuries and took her June 22 to UPMC Passavant in Cranberry Township for an examination. The child was later taken to Children’s Hospital.

Stiles spoke to Vaughan on June 27 at his home. He denied wrongdoing.

The defendant recounted that while baby-sitting the infant, he had placed her on his bed after changing her diaper. Later, she became “fussy” while he watched television, documents said.

He picked her up and placed her on the side of the bed. When she squatted down to crawl off the bed, Vaughan told police, she accidentally fell head first, hitting an open drawer and landing on the floor.

“He told me that he immediately picked her up and went downstairs to put ice on her face,” Stiles said, referring to the suspect’s account.

Paula Vaughan said her son called her at work and gave a similar account of what happened.

“He was upset and concerned about what the child’s mother would say,” she said, “and what he should do.”

She returned home to check on the infant. She said the child had a “swollen lip and a bump on the forehead.”

Paula Vaughan said the injuries she saw did not appear serious or in need of hospital treatment. She later returned to work.

She said she did not know how the infant got the other injuries but claimed her son, who does not have an attorney, was not responsible.

While Cody Vaughan also provided a written statement, police advised him that they still had more questions. But later, the defendant failed to return Stiles’ telephone calls and went missing.

Police on Sept. 16 obtained an arrest warrant for the suspect but his whereabouts remained unknown until this week.

On Wednesday, a tip led police to District Judge Carolyn Bengal’s Office in Brackenridge, Allegheny County, where he appeared for a preliminary hearing on charges stemming from a February drugged driving arrest.

Saxonburg officers showed up and arrested him.

“He didn’t show any surprise, anger or anything,” Stiles said. “There was absolutely no reaction.”

Vaughan was later arraigned on a felony charge of aggravated assault, and misdemeanor charges of child endangerment and reckless endangerment.

He is being held in the Butler County Prison on $25,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 5 at the office of District Judge Sue Haggerty in Saxonburg.

Stiles, who said the infant remains in the care of her grandmother, noted the investigation is ongoing.