Trish Bennett, Editor
ASHVILLE – A local man is charged with felonious assault and child endangering after admitting to nearly suffocating his crying baby earlier this week, according to Detective Jeff George, Ashville Police Department.
Joshua D. Groves, 31, of East Street, is being held on $7,500 bond in the Pickaway County Jail on the two second-degree felony charges. A preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 10 in Circleville Municipal Court.
George said the call began about 9 p.m. Monday when Officer Sara Hempstead responded to a call about a suicidal male at the East Street residence and was informed en route there also had been a domestic assault against a 15-month-old child.
Upon her arrival, Hempstead determined Groves had been home alone with his daughter, who was crying while he was in the shower. According to reports, Groves said he tried to give her a pacifier when he got out of the shower, but she still wouldn’t stop crying.
Groves reportedly told Hempstead he “lost it” and placed the baby on its back on his bed. He then brought her knees up to her chest, applying weight and forcing the child’s legs against her torso to the point where she was gasping for breath.
Medics from the Harrison Township Fire Department arrived on the scene and determined the baby was suffering from petechiae (bleeding capillaries leaking blood into the skin) on her face, head, neck, ears and eyelids, and they reportedly confirmed it was caused by a prolonged lack of oxygen.
George said the baby has since been treated and released from Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and it appears she will make a full recovery.
He said the baby is now in the custody of her mother, who was not home at the time of the incident but called police when she returned home to find the severe petechiael rash on the baby and began questioning her husband about it.
George said Groves also admitted to doing the same thing to the child on two previous occasions about eight months ago.
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
