A father is accused of leaving his baby daughter unattended in a bathtub while he was scrolling on his phone in another room in Kentucky, USA.
Police in Covington said they were called to an apartment on Tuesday, May 26, for a report of an infant not breathing, according to an arrest citation. A baby girl was found unresponsive after being left in a bathtub filled with water for about five minutes.
The infant’s father, 20-year-old Seffan Mederious, allegedly told police that he was in another room in the apartment, scrolling on his phone. When he returned to the bathroom, he found his daughter floating in the water, according to the arrest report.
Mederious then went to the home of a relative, who called 911.
The baby was rushed to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and police said she is expected to make a full recovery.
Rob Sanders, the commonwealth’s attorney for Kenton County, alleged that Mederious “fled” after the incident.
“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,” he said, per WXIX. “He felt it more important to run away from the scene.”
Mederious was charged with wanton endangerment and criminal abuse.
He appeared in court on Wednesday, May 27, for a preliminary hearing. The case is expected to go before a grand jury.
“We take children’s safety very seriously in Kenton County,” Sanders said. “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 d£ath or there’s going to be consequences for it.”