A Navy sailor from Connecticut has been arrested and charged with child abuse after police say he nearly killed his 2-month-old son by squeezing him so hard when he was angry that he caused 29 bone fractures.
Jordan Rittenhouse, 24, reportedly admitted to police that he had squeezed his baby at least 16 times, usually as a way to stop him from crying. Cops say he even confessed to forcing a bottle into his infant's mouth with such force that he made the poor child bleed.
Rittenhouse, who is originally from North Carolina and also has a 2-year-old child with the mother of his infant, is a student at the Naval Submarine School. During his first interview with cops, he reportedly told them he was stressed about starting his career, but that he would never hurt his child.
The baby's mom, Krishna Rittenhouse, took her child to the hospital emergency room after she discovered he was having trouble eating. That's when doctors found rib fractures "at different stages of healing," which is just chilling because it indicates that this wasn't likely a one-time incident but has been ongoing. And he's only 2-months-old -- how could anyone look at that little innocent face and feel anything other than protective over him?
A doctor who is treating the baby reportedly called this "the worst case of serious physical injury she has seen in her career," according to court records.
Krishna, who told police she never touched her child, said their baby was "perfect," but that he had acid reflux and her husband sometimes got frustrated trying to feed him. She says she never saw Rittenhouse harm their baby.
Rittenhouse has been charged with first-degree assault and risk of injury to a minor. He is in jail on a $500,000 cash bond.
If you stop for a minute and think about what it must be like to be this mom -- what an absolutely heartbreaking nightmare. Assuming these accusations are true and this dad is found guilty, mom will be faced with the decision of whether she can bring herself to forgive the man she once trusted. I know forgiveness is everything in life, but I honestly don't know if I could do it. How would you ever feel comfortable leaving your children alone with someone who may have hurt them like this?
Do you think you would be able to forgive your husband if you found out something like this happened in your family?
Image via marie smith/Flickr