A man from Broken Bow is facing felony and misdemeanor charges after an infant was hospitalized with severe injuries.
Adam J. Schaefer, age 30, has been charged in Custer County Court with intentional child abuse resulting in injury (a class II felony) and false reporting (a class I misdemeanor). A class II felony holds a minimum charge of one year imprisonment and a maximum of fifty years imprisonment, while a class I misdemeanor has no minimum charge and a maximum of not more than one year imprisonment, a $1,000 fine or both.
An arrest affidavit in court documents states that a 15 day old infant had been taken to Melham Medical Center with a reported head injury. When a Broken Bow Police sergeant arrived at the hospital, staff there reported that the child had serious injuries including extensive bruising, an acute subdural hematoma, left parietal with extra hemisphere fissure, extra axial hematoma, and right parietal skull fracture.
Staff at the hospital did not believe that the injuries matched the explanation given by the father, who said that he had hit the child’s head on the car door when he was putting the child into a car seat causing the child to throw his head back.
When the child was in Omaha for further evaluation and treatment, it was learned that the child also had a fractured pelvis.
At the request of Broken Bow Police, Nebraska State Patrol investigators agreed to conduct an interview, in which Schaefer said he was taking the child for a ride in the car because the baby was fussing. As they were getting in the car, he said he held the infant and slapped him three times with an open hand before throwing the infant down in the car seat in the back seat. He said he drove for about ten to fifteen minutes to calm himself down before taking the baby home and seeing the injuries.
An arrest warrant was issued for Schaefer on September 30 and he was served the warrant in Douglas County before being transported to the Custer County Jail where he was booked on October 2.
Schaefer had his bond set at ten percent of $250,000. He is due back in court on October 28 at 10 AM for a preliminary hearing.
