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Last updated on Monday, May 22, 2017
(SEYMOUR) - A Jackson Circuit Court jury convicted a Seymour man on three counts of neglect of a dependent and battery Friday afternoon.
The jury deliberated for about three hours before rendering a guilty verdict.
Evan Huntsigner, 31, was found guilty of a Level 3 felony count of battery resulting in serious bodily injury and neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury and two Level 6 felony counts of neglect.
Jackson County Prosecutor AmyMarie Travis says, these charges stem from a 2016 incident in which a 7-month-old child was injured.
According to a Jackson County Sheriff's Department report, the infant had been brought to Schneck Medical Center's emergency room Feb. 22, 2016, by the parents for unknown medical reasons.
Personnel at the Seymour hospital provided care and performed tests on the child.
Doctors determined the child had suffered an internal head injury, and the baby was transferred to Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis for further treatment.
At Riley, doctors confirmed the child had suffered a head injury and bleeding on the brain. Later testing also discovered the child was suffering from a fractured rib.
Police were contacted by the Indiana Department of Child Services to investigate how the child was injured.
Huntsinger told a DCS caseworker the child was sitting in a bouncy seat and he had picked the baby up to give him a bottle.
According to court records, Huntsinger told the caseworker he fed the baby about an ounce of the bottle when the baby "flailed his arms, threw his head back and then went limp."
Huntsinger told the caseworker he put the child in his car and went to the hospital.
At Riley, doctors performed an eye exam, which indicated hemorrhaging that would be consistent with the infant being shaken.
"This injury would require an amount of force that a reasonable caretaker would recognize as dangerous to an infant. It would not result from routine handling or care," the report stated.
Huntsinger surrendered to police April 20, 2016.
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