SUMTER COUNTY, SC (WIS) -
A Wedgefield couple has been charged with child abuse and failing to seek medical care after their 6-month-old daughter suffered a permanent brain injury last month, the Sumter County Sheriff's Office announced.
Christopher McFadden Jr., 20, and Brittany Nicole Shapely, 18, were jailed Friday after an arrest warrant alleges they deliberately avoided medical treatment for the girl after being aware that the child was seriously injured, which caused a permanent brain injury, Sumter County Sheriff's Sgt. Tripp Mays said.
The 6 month old was taken to the hospital Sept. 5 and a department of social services employee contacted authorities after hospital staff reported the child had cracked or broken ribs and the child's brain was swollen, according to the incident report.
"While the cause of the injuries remains under investigation, staff at both hospitals said the injuries are consistent with suffocation and classified them as ‘non-accidental,'" the incident report states.
McFadden and Shapley are both in the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center on $150,000 bond.
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(Source: Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center)
(Source: Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center)
