Cottage Grove man charged with abusing infant
COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. -- Officers from the Cottage Grove Police Department were flagged down Sunday by a hysterical mother and father carrying their two-month-old infant daughter.
They said the infant was accidentally injured when stepped on at their residence, and they were en route to the hospital.
They were taken to the Cottage Grove Community Hospital by Cottage Grove Police. Due to significant injuries, the infant was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital at Riverbend. At Riverbend Hospital, significant skeletal injuries were discovered, police said.
Cottage Grove Police Department said Tuesday that their investigation revealed that the infant had been subjected to abuse at the hands of Michael Oreily Orton, 21, the infant's biological father.
After interviewing Orton on Sunday, he was arrested and taken to the Lane County Jail on suspicion of criminal mistreatment, third degree assault and reckless endangering. Police told KVAL News that the interview with Orton indicates the abuse started when the child was only two weeks old but that Orton claimed these injuries stemmed from an accident while jumping on the bed, not abuse.
On Monday, detectives interviewed the infant's biological mother Antoinette Lori Bernhardt, 21. Police arrested her and took her to the Lane County Jail on suspicion of Criminal Mistreatment 1.
However, on Tuesday afternoon, Cottage Grove police told KVAL News they would not pursue charges against Bernhardt and that they would use her as a witness in seeking a charge of first degree assault against Orton.
The baby was still in the ICU at RiverBend Tuesday morning, police said. The couple's 3-year-old girl has been taken into state protective custody.
