A D.C. mother faces child abuse charges after prosecutors say one of his legs was broken and his skull was fractured because of her actions. News4’s Meagan Fitzgerald reports.
The D.C. mother accused of throwing her infant son so hard his skull was fractured is believed to be involved in him receiving another injury, according to prosecutors.
Jasmin Lynn, 28, was charged last week with first-degree cruelty to children, as News4 reported. Police said she was watching her 2-month-old son in an apartment in Southwest D.C. on July 28 when the child's skull was fractured. Police say Lynn threw the baby -- but she told police she accidentally dropped him.
The child was previously injured in May or June, according to Lynn's defense lawyer. Lynn and the child's father "became highly inebriated, and an altercation ensued, and the baby wound up with a broken thigh bone," lawyer Charles O'Banion said.
"She hasn't really come forward and given a plausible explanation," Lynn's lawyer said.
The case was never prosecuted because the baby's father declined charges, a Metropolitan Police Department detective told a judge.
The D.C. Child and Family Services Agency gave custody of the baby to his paternal grandmother, O'Banion said. It wasn't clear if Lynn was allowed to see her child without supervision when she saw the infant on July 28.
Police said she was watching her 2-month-old son then in an apartment in Southwest D.C. when he was injured.
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The child's grandmother, who was in the apartment at the time, told police she heard the baby crying and that she thought Lynn was drunk. She called her son, the baby's father, and asked him to come home from work.
When the baby's father arrived, he saw a knot on the baby's head and called 911, police said.
Doctors determined the infant's skull had been fractured and he had bleeding in his brain, prosecutors said.
According to investigators, Lynn told the child's father that she threw the baby when he wouldn't stop crying. Lynn told police she dropped the baby, police said.
CFSA runs background checks using D.C. and federal databases before placing children with guardians, spokeswoman Mindy Good said. Additionally, agents from the District agency check on children's welfare several times per month.
Lynn is under high-intensity supervision as she awaits her next court appearance September 4. She faces as much as 15 years in prison if she's found guilty of child abuse, her lawyer said.
