NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — A Noblesville man is being held in jail on felony charges after his 6-month-old child was checked into the hospital with broken arms and legs and a bleeding mouth.
Tristan D. Gerhardt, 28, was arrested on Tuesday and booked into the Hamilton County Jail on charges of neglect of a dependent and domestic battery - both Level 3 felonies. The charges come after doctors determined Gerhardt's child had several broken arm and leg bones.
Police crews were first called on May 1 to Peyton Manning Children's Hospital after a child services worker notified them of potential severe abuse. Officers took a report of a 6-month-old baby who had injuries that included:
- Broken lower left arm bones
- Broken bones at the end of the upper right arm near the elbow
- A broken lower left ulna near the wrist
- Broken areas of the right upper leg near the knee
- Broken areas of the right upper leg near the hip
- Broken areas of the right lower leg near the ankle
- Broken areas of the left lower leg near the knee
- Scarring in the mouth where the gums connect to the lips
Doctors at the hospital told police that a majority of the fractures were CMLs - a highly specific injury indicative of child abuse where "forceful yanking, pulling or jerking causes tearing at the end of the bone." The injuries could not be caused by everyday handling of a baby, doctors said.
Medical records also showed the child had been suffering from a bleeding mouth caused by the tearing of tissue in the mouth. Doctors said the bleeding - which initially began when the child was 3 weeks old - is often caused by a bottle or pacifier being shoved into a baby's mouth out of frustration. Doctors called the mouth tears a "sentinel" injury indicative of worse abuse.
When speaking with the baby's parents, the mother explained how her husband Gerhardt takes care of the child throughout the day while she is at work. When asked how these injuries may have happened, Gerhardt blamed tight swaddling and "rough diaper changes."
Family members who spent time with Gerhardt and the baby told police concerning stories, describing how the father would continuously let the baby cry and pull the child around while changing them.
"Tristan is very mean, short-tempered, and yells a lot at the victim when [the mother] is not at home," court documents read.
Ultimately, doctors concluded that Gerhardt's rough diaper change explanation did not add up.
"If a person changes an infant's diaper in a way that breaks his legs because of the pulling/jerking they are doing; they may call this a 'rough diaper change.' I would call this abusive," one doctor wrote. "I am not able to say the actions by the parents were abusive. I am able to say that if CML fractures on an infant were caused by a parent changing his diaper, those actions would be abusive."
When police checked Gerhardt's phone for any evidence, they found texts between him and the mother where he said he'd dealt with child services in the past.
"I've been through this before," Gerhardt wrote. "I'm loosing (sic) you both."
Ultimately, police filed court documents against Gerhardt on Friday, July 26, and arrested him on Tuesday. Online court records show that Gerhardt is being held in the Hamilton County Jail with a bail set at $150,000 cash or surety. A pretrial hearing in his case is scheduled for Oct. 10, 2024.