TITUSVILLE, Fla. — A 3-year-old Titusville boy who police said was severely beaten by his mother's boyfriend was back in surgery on Tuesday, and there is concern that the child may not survive.
Police said 20-year-old Joshua Carter admitted to hitting the 3-year-old boy inside his Palmetto Ridge apartment. The boy is now in critical condition, suffering from broken ribs and bleeding in his abdomen, authorities said.
Titusville police said while the child's mother, 19-year-old Breanna Love, was at a club in Orlando Saturday night, and Carter was left home with her child.
Investigators said Carter hit the child so hard that the tot's pelvis and ribs were broken. Authorities also said that there were finger marks in the bruises.
“We are just not going to agree to any bond and request no bond. We don't know if this child is going to survive,” prosecutors said in court on Tuesday.
Police said Carter confessed to the beating but didn't say what might have set him off.
"There was nothing specific. He just said it was the first time he ever struck the child and that he struck the child too hard," said Cpl. Gary Boyer with the Titusville Police Department.
Love is facing charges of child neglect because investigators said she didn't get help for her son. Carter's being charged with aggravated child abuse, police said.
Love’s bond was set at $1 million on Tuesday. The judge also forbade her from going near her son.
Carter’s bond was set at $1.5 million.
If the child dies, Love and Carter could face murder charges, prosecutors said.
Investigators said Love might not have abused the boy, but she denied him medical attention for two days as he suffered.
"The child was crying, throwing up, could not take food or water since Saturday. Instead, she left the child with him while she went out," said Boyer.
Carter took the boy to his grandmother's house after he lost consciousness on Monday. The grandmother then called 911, according to investigators.
Police said if it weren't for the grandmother, the child may not have made it to his fourth birthday.
Police told WFTV the father of child was distraught to learn about the alleged abuse. He is working with the Department of Children and Families and could get custody of the child.
WFTV
