Charges: Man Fractures 2-Year-Old's Skull, Gives Conflicting Stories
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 28-year-old Deer River man is accused of seriously injuring a toddler and then giving conflicting reports as to how it happened, according to charges filed in Itasca County.
Corey Michael Cloud faces one count of felony first-degree assault and one count of felony malicious punishment of a child causing great bodily harm in connection to the late January incident.
Cloud allegedly assaulted the female child somewhere between Jan. 20 and Jan. 31. The child was brought to an area emergency room on Jan. 31.
Cloud initially told an investigator that the child had fallen out of her booster seat, which was on a chair in the kitchen, and struck her head. The investigator at the time determined that, due the height of the fall, the child wouldn't have suffered such an injury, the complaint said.
A pediatric specialist later told authorities that the victim had suffered a large skull fracture to the back of her head that wrapped around both sides of her skull. The child also had two fractured ribs that appeared to be 7 to 10 days old. Other injuries, a possible compression fracture of the spine and a lacerated liver, possibly occurred on Jan. 27, the complaint said.
In a follow up interview, Cloud continued to maintain the same story, but ultimately admitted to making it up. He then said he unintentionally knocked the victim down when he accidently hit her in in the temple/ear area with his knee. However, his description of the incident was inconsistent with the medical evidence that indicates the child's injury occurred to the back of her head, the complaint said.
Cloud was later arrested and taken to the Itasca County Jail. His bail has been set at $100,000 without conditions and $50,000 with conditions. His next court appearance is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 13.
If convicted, Cloud faces up to 20 years in prison for the assault charge and up to 10 years on the malicious punishment of a child charge.