A Jefferson City man has been charged with child abuse following an incident last week.
Darrion Dowdy, 26, is also charged with third-degree domestic assault and first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
A 2-year-old child was taken to a local hospital Oct. 1 and later flown to St. Louis Children's Hospital for treatment of injuries including bruises to his head, face, chest, abdomen and back, according to Jefferson City Police Department reports. Doctors later told authorities the child had contusions to his heart, liver and pancreas and also had trauma to his spleen as well as injuries to his small and large intestine along with a fractured rib.
Doctors in St. Louis reported the injuries had been caused by blunt force trauma.
The child's mother told authorities that on the morning of Oct. 1, the child had acted fine and ate breakfast. She left her residence for about two hours, with Dowdy to care for the child, and when she returned the child was lethargic and vomiting, according to police reports.
When questioned by authorities, Dowdy reportedly corroborated the mother's timeline of events and said he was the only person around the child when the mother was away. He denied harming the child.