TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Clearwater toddler is in critical condition after reportedly suffering brain bleeding and broken bones that were left untreated for a week, according to an affidavit.
Police said the girl’s mother, Cheyenne Gray, 21, was arrested for child neglect, and her boyfriend, Cameron Taylor, 21, was arrested on charges of child neglect and child abuse (aggravated battery/great bodily harm).
According to police, the child was admitted to the hospital in critical condition on June 12. The girl had suffered a head injury and brain bleeding and had multiple bruises on her body, the affidavit said.
Taylor told detectives he was caring for the child when she fell off the bed and hit her head. When “challenged on” the severity of the child’s injuries, he said that in a separate incident, she fell off the toilet seat and hit her face on the bathtub. Another time, she was sitting on his lap and fell face-first onto the carpet, he said, according to police.
He explained that the thumb prints on the child’s neck were from him holding it tight to wash her hair.
Taylor said he was “not aware of his own strength and he didn’t mean to abuse the child,” the affidavit said.
Police said he texted Gray images of her daughter’s injuries.
Police said the couple did not immediately seek medical care for the girl because Gray was worried she would look like an abusive mother.
Both Taylor and Gray are being held at a Pinellas County jail.
