A north Alabama man is accused of abusing his girlfriend’s 1-year-old daughter, who suffered a bruised face and bloodied mouth, the authorities said.
Caleb Blake Hill is held in the Limestone County jail without bail set on a charge of torture/willful abuse of a child, according to the sheriff’s office. Hill, 22, is from Union Grove in Marshall County.
Hill was babysitting his girlfriend’s three young children in Athens while the woman went to work on Friday, according to the sheriff’s office. In a text message, Hill told the mother that the children were giving him panic attacks, said sheriff’s spokesman Stephen Young.
When the mother returned home, she found bruises on her 1-year-old’s face and blood inside the child’s mouth, Young said. The child was treated and released from a hospital.
When he was arrested on Tuesday, Hill denied harming the girl. Investigators said Hill told them that the girl’s 4-year-old sibling must have inflicted the injuries while Hill was sleeping.
Hill was arrested while attending a court hearing in neighboring Morgan County. In that court case, a judge granted a protection from abuse order after Hill’s estranged wife accused him of domestic violence, court records show. The wife has filed for divorce. Earlier this year, Hill pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence for throwing a litter box at his estranged wife and hitting her in the face, according to court documents.
If convicted of abusing the 1-year-old, Hill faces up to 10 years in prison.