CUSTER COUNTY, Neb. – Adam Schaefer, age 30 of Broken Bow, pled no contest to a charge of intentional child abuse causing injury on Thursday afternoon in Custer County District Court.
A plea agreement was reached between Schaefer and the state that dismissed a count of false reporting (class I misdemeanor) in addition to any further charges resulting from ongoing investigations.
Schaefer was charged in October of last year when Broken Bow Police were called to Melham Medical center regarding a 15 day old infant with serious injuries including extensive bruising, brain bleeding, and a skull fracture.
Schaefer had said that the child had hit its head on the car door when he was putting the child into a car seat. In a later interview with the Nebraska State Patrol, Schaefer said he was taking the child for a ride in the car because the baby was fussing. He said that he ‘saw red’ and slapped the baby three times with an open hand before throwing the infant down in the car seat.
Schaefer will face a minimum of one year imprisonment and a maximum of 50 years imprisonment on the class II felony charge when he appears for sentencing on July 3. Judge Karin Noakes ordered that a pre-sentence investigation be completed before that date.
