Tyler Duddy

BUTLER TWP — A township man is facing assault and other charges after his infant son was taken to the Children’s Hospital critical care unit with head injuries last month.

Township police on Tuesday charged Tyler G. Duddy, 25, with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

Duddy confessed to striking the 7-week-old infant’s head off the bedroom wall about 11:30 p.m. June 19 while he was frustrated and mad, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.

Police said the infant was hospitalized the following day with a skull fracture and a subdural hematoma. The injuries will likely cause some long-term impairment, the complaint said.

Duddy was the primary caregiver of the infant at his Old Plank Estates apartment along Old Plank Road.

The infant previously had been admitted to Children’s Hospital for “failure to thrive,” from June 10 to 17. The infant’s discharge orders stated that he be seen daily by a pediatrician for weight checks.

Totin Family Services was assisting Duddy with transportation to the pediatrician’s office. The TFS driver told police that the infant was observed to be fine earlier in the day on June 19.

However, the TFS driver witnessed the infant had eye injuries when she arrived at Duddy’s apartment June 20. Duddy told her the infant “had a bad night” and had scratched his eye.

Later at the pediatrician’s office, the driver and doctors observed other injuries to the infant’s head and began asking Duddy questions about who had cared for the child the previous day.

Duddy then attributed the eye injuries to the infant’s mother pinching the eye while removing a “fuzzy.” He also said the mother “grazed” the infants head on a table during a visitation. He also said the mother’s father watched the infant for about two hours that day.

The pediatrician sent the infant to Children’s Hospital for treatment. During the drive down, Duddy told the TFS worker that he was concerned the infant’s grandfather could have dropped the infant on the floor. Duddy also alleged the grandfather would lie if asked about it, according to the criminal complaint.

Once at the hospital, Duddy blamed the injuries on the fact the infant had recently lost weight, that the grandfather may have dropped him, and that the mother hit his head.

The pediatrician’s office and Children’s Hospital followed up with the infant’s mother and other people Duddy said had been in contact with the infant that Friday. During the investigation, they learned the grandfather did not take the infant that day and that the infant was fine up until he was returned to Duddy at about 8 p.m.

Police questioned Duddy on Tuesday and he admitted that he lied to everyone involved that day because he was scared.

Duddy told investigators on Tuesday that he put the child to bed following the incident but the child later woke him up at about 2:30 a.m., crying with an apparent eye injury.

The criminal complaint said Children’s Hospital reported the infant was a victim of physical violence relating to an abusive head trama event, and that the infant could not have caused the injuries to himself, nor could the injuries have occurred during “routine care by reasonable adult caretakers.”

Duddy was arrested Tuesday evening and placed in Butler County Prison on $75,000 bail.

The child has since been released from Children’s Hospital, according to police.

The infant is in the care of Butler County Children and Youth Services.