Mandeville 5-month-old in critical condition after father abuses child, STPSO says

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MANDEVILLE, La. — A 21-year-old man was arrested Saturday after the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office says he threw his 5-month-old child to the ground and struck the child's head against the metal bars of a swing set. The infant is in critical condition in the hospital.

In a statement, STPSO officials said Brian Young admitted to abusing the child in their Mandeville Home.

Shortly after 5 p.m. Thursday, the child's mother called 911 to report that Young had told her the baby had stopped breathing while she was at work. He was home alone with the infant at the time.

The child was taken to the hospital, where doctors discovered injuries consistent with child abuse.

Young reportedly told detectives that he had thrown the infant numerous times onto the floor and into a swing, striking the child's head on the metal bars of the swing. He was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jail on one felony count of second-degree cruelty to juveniles, as well as two misdemeanor counts: possession with intent to distribute and having a controlled substance in the presence of a minor. Authorities said they found the drugs inside the home where the abuse took place.

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