James Richardson was charged with aggravated child abuse.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A St. Petersburg man was arrested Thursday after police said he broke the leg of the 2-year-old boy he was caring for.
According to police, 29-year-old James Richardson and several of his adult roommates said Richardson put the toddler to bed around 7 p.m. Tuesday and returned to the room several times to soothe the child when he woke up crying.
The last time Richardson went into the room, he told officers the child became combative and admitted to “striking the child on the leg with his hand,” the police report read.
Police said Richardson claimed he left the room, heard a “thump” 30 seconds later and returned to find the child lying on the toddler bed with a fracture to his right femur.
According to the police report, Richardson spontaneously told a roommate, “I just tapped his leg, and it’s broken.”
The roommates also reportedly told officers that Richardson had become less patient with his kids and yelled more frequently since losing his job earlier this year.
Medical staff described the fracture as a “high-impact” one, usually only seen with serious car accidents.
The police report said the child sustained a similar fracture to the same leg in Richardson’s care when he was 4 months old. That injury was never reported.
Police also noted that Richardson gave conflicting statements to officers when trying to re-enact the events of the night.
Richardson was arrested on Thursday and charged with aggravated battery on a child under the age of 18.