A Kentucky father is facing charges after authorities say he left his baby daughter alone in a bathtub while he was in another room scrolling on his phone.
Police in Covington were called to an apartment on Tuesday, May 26, after receiving a report that an infant was not breathing, according to an arrest citation cited by Fox 34 and WXIX.
When authorities arrived, they found a baby girl unresponsive after she had allegedly been left unattended in a bathtub filled with water for about five minutes.
The baby’s father, 20-year-old Seffan Mederious, allegedly told police that he had been in another room using his phone when the incident happened.
According to the arrest report, Mederious said he returned to the bathroom and found his daughter floating in the water.
He then went to a relative’s home, where someone called 911, according to the reports.
The baby was rushed to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Police said she is expected to make a full recovery.
Rob Sanders, the commonwealth’s attorney for Kenton County, claimed Mederious fled after the incident instead of staying at the apartment.
“I do know that when police arrived on the scene, Mr. Mederious had fled the residence and was found hiding at a nearby relative’s residence, so he didn’t stick around to help police and firefighters, and he didn’t respond to the hospital to see how the baby was doing,” Sanders said, according to WXIX. “He felt it more important to run away from the scene.”
Mederious has been charged with wanton endangerment and criminal abuse.
He appeared in court on Wednesday, May 27, for a preliminary hearing. The case is expected to be presented to a grand jury.
Sanders said officials in Kenton County take child safety seriously, even while acknowledging that parents are not expected to be perfect.
“We don’t expect parents to be perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but they can’t do things that place their child at the risk of serious injury or death or there’s going to be consequences for it,” Sanders said
The baby is expected to recover.
He must have great parents.