A North Miami Beach man is accused of severely abusing his girlfriend’s 5-year-old son with autism after he was hospitalized with serious injuries, police said.
Daniel Eduardo Romero, 34, was arrested Sunday on charges including aggravated child abuse causing great bodily harm, child neglect with great bodily harm and providing false information to law enforcement, records showed.
Miami-Dade Corrections
Miami-Dade Corrections
Daniel Eduardo Romero
According to an arrest report, the investigation began on Friday when police responded to a home in the 1400 block of Northeast 179th Street for a report of a 5-year-old child in cardiac arrest.
Officers found the child inside with no detectable pulse and gave the child CPR until Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews arrived and regained a pulse, and the child was taken to Jackson North Hospital with his mother.
Romero told investigators that on Thursday, he was teaching the boy how to ride a bicycle and claimed the boy fell and suffered a bruise to his forehead and scratches to his face, the report said.
An investigator asked to see the bicycle but Romero couldn’t produce one, the report said.
Romero changed his statement and said they were using a small wagon, but he produced a small wagon that had a broken wheel, was weathered and appeared to have been unused for an extended period of time, the report said.
Romero said the boy didn’t appear to be seriously injured and medical care was not sought but he said on Friday, the boy woke up lethargic and progressively weakened throughout the day and when he became unresponsive they called 911, the report said.
The boy’s mother later told investigators she and Romero have been in an on and off relationship since 2023 and share two children together but said the 5-year-old is not his biological son.
She initially said Romero was teaching the boy to ride a bicycle and when she came outside he was already injured, the report said.
She said she treated his head and facial injuries with ice and over the counter medication
The mother said the boy, who’s autistic and non-verbal, was acting normally so she didn’t believe he needed medical attention, the report said.
But she then changed her account and said Romero had instructed her to report that the boy fell from a bicycle, the report said.
She also said that on Thursday, she woke up and found Romero next to the victim and said Romero told her the boy had been rocking on the edge of the bed and fell and hit his head on a television then struck his head on a hard portion of a food stand, the report said.
The child had swelling to the rear of his head, along with a small incision and bleeding, so she put ice on the injury and gave him medication but also noticed swelling on the victim’s arm, the report said.
She said that morning, she left and came back and found the boy with more injuries, including a large lump on his forehead and scratches on his face so she said she confronted Romero, who said the boy had been running inside with socks on when he slipped and fell, the report said.
The mother said she didn’t seek medical attention and said Romero told her if she took the boy to the hospital to tell them he fell from a bicycle, the report said.
She said on Friday he was lethargic and progressively became weaker before his lips started losing color and turning blue, so she told Romero to call 911, the report said.
She also told investigators that she believed Romero had caused the injuries, the report said, adding that he frequently became irritated with the boy due to his autistic behavior, and became frustrated when their 5-month-old infant cried.
The mother said Romero disliked the victim’s biological father and became angry when the victim was referred to by his legal last name, and said he had a short temper and anger problems and that previous unreported domestic violence had occurred, the report said.
The boy was transferred to Holtz Children’s hospital for specialized treatment, and medical staff found he had suffered internal bleeding to the brain and abdominal cavity, lacerations to the liver, kidney and spleen, a fractured left arm, bruising and scratches to the face, bruising to the back, swelling to the forehead and swelling to the back of the head, the report said.
A physician assistant said the injuries weren’t consistent with accidental trauma and were indicative of blunt force trauma, the report said.
The boy remained unstable and on mechanical ventilation, the report said.
Romero was booked into jail and was being held without bond, records showed.