A Miami-Dade mother is facing abuse and neglect charges after her 7-month-old son was hospitalized with multiple leg fractures, authorities said.
Johana Barrera-Delgado, 26, was arrested Thursday on charges of aggravated child abuse causing great bodily harm, child neglect causing great bodily harm, and tampering with a victim, Miami-Dade jail records showed.
Miami-Dade Corrections
Miami-Dade Corrections
Johana Barrera-Delgado
According to an arrest report, Barrera-Delgado had brought her son to Holtz Children’s Hospital for left leg pain back on Dec. 11.
Hospital staff ran tests and found he had a spiral fracture to his left femoral shaft and fractures to his left and right tibial shaft in different healing stages, the report said.
Barrera-Delgado said a family member was babysitting the boy and that he may have suffered the injuries while under her care, and she was later detained by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office and questioned, and denied abusing the boy, the report said.
On Dec. 17, the babysitter was interviewed by detectives and said she’d left the boy on a bed with her daughter, stepped away from them a couple of minutes and heard the boy crying, the report said.
She said she didn’t know if her daughter had struck him.
On Dec. 18, the babysitter met with deputies and made a controlled phone call to Barrera-Delgado, who instructed her to “continue with the story that was told to the police, and everything would be okay,” the report said.
She also said the boy had been dropped off at her home with a swollen left leg and didn’t suffer any injuries under her care, the report said.
Police said Barrera-Delgado later admitted her son fell off the bed multiple times while in her care, and that she grabbed his left leg and forced his foot into his mouth.
Barrera-Delgado was booked into jail and on Friday appeared before a judge who ordered her held without bond and noted she has an immigration hold.