A Cape Coral man was arrested Friday, accused of abusing his 7-week-old daughter so severely that the infant needed a blood transfusion before she could be flown to the All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg.
The full extent of the child’s injuries were unknown at the time a police report was taken Friday. However, a Lee Memorial Health Park doctor who saw the child before she was taken to St. Petersburg said “(the child) sustained bi-lateral skull fractures, a possible brain injury, swelling on the left side of the brain, a large hematoma on the left side of the head, multiple bruises to her face…a bruise on the lower left quadrant of her abdomen and bruising on her right scapula,” the report states.
Geoffrey Scott Huston, 41, of 1332 Academy Boulevard, was charged with cruelty towards a child causing great bodily harm or disability after reportedly confessing to police he caused the injuries to to the child, who was one of his twin infants he cared for while his wife slept in a different room of the home.
Huston is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs approximately 240 pounds, according to the report.
Huston initially called 911 at approximately 3 a.m. and told dispatchers he had accidentally dropped the child in the bath tub, causing her to strike her head against the side of the tub and become injured, police said.
The Department of Children and Families and law enforcement were later contacted and told the injuries were inconsistent with Huston’s explanation.
Huston reportedly confessed to lying and told police he was caring for the children while his wife slept in a different room of their home.
He said one of the children would not stop crying, causing him to “lose it,” according to police.
He struck the child multiple times on the side of her head, in the face and on her back; squeezed and pushed on her midsection; put his hand over her mouth and nose; threw her across the bed, causing her to strike her head against the iron headboard twice; struck her head against a non-moving fan blade; and threw her into her crib several times, causing her to strike her head against wooden rails and a portable night light, he reportedly told officers.
The events spanned approximately four hours, police said.
Huston was arrested at 2:45 p.m. and taken to the Lee County Jail on $30,000 bond, the arrest report states.
Followup information on the baby’s condition was unavailable at press time.