A man accused of beating a 2-year-old nearly to death has turned himself in to Jefferson County deputies.
According to an arrest affidavit released by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office on Monday, the child's mother told investigators the 21-year-old started hitting the toddler because she was crying.
Joshua Gonzales faces charges of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury and is being held on a $100,000 bond.
The victim wasn’t taken to the hospital until three days after her mother told investigators Gonzales hit her in the face multiple times, threw her against a couch and kicked her in the buttocks, according to the affidavit.
It happened after the mother and Gonzales got into an argument in her living room – something that prompted the young child to cry, the affidavit states.
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On Thursday – three days later -- a passerby called 911 and said the 2-year-old was having a medical issue near West Harvard Avenue and South Tennyson Street. When police arrived, the child was not breathing and possibly choking. According to the affidavit, when first responders administered back blows, the toddler coughed up large amounts of brown mucus.
The affidavit says when an investigators spoke to the doctor taking care of the child, they learned she had a right subdural brain bleed, grade 5 liver laceration, multiple rib fractures and a bilateral lung contusion.
The toddler also had bruises all over her body – including on her genitals, according to the affidavit.
The doctor told investigators that the child was expected to survive, but could have brain damage. She was intubated as a precaution and given a medication to prevent seizures.
During an initial interview with the victim’s mother, the affidavit says she told detectives her daughter had fallen down the stairs.
PREVIOUS STORY: Man wanted for beating toddler turns self in to JeffCo deputies
Just a month before, according to the affidavit, the toddler was taken to the Children’s Hospital Colorado with concerns about sexual abuse and unknown bruises – something the girl’s mother said came from roughhousing with her brothers. While the mother’s family told investigators about Gonzales, according to the affidavit, she did not acknowledge that he existed.
Ultimately, no charges were filed. According to the affidavit, the mother said she was arguing with Gonzales about that previous incident before he beat her daughter.
During a second interview about the toddler's life-threatening injuries, the affidavit says the mother became “visibly upset and was crying.” That’s when she told detectives her boyfriend came back. She initially said his name was Louie Romero, but according to the affidavit, when she was pressed by investigators, admitted it was Gonzales.
This prompted the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office to release Gonzales’ photo and obtain a warrant for his arrest, asking the public to be on the lookout.
He turned himself in to authorities on Sunday – almost a week after he is accused of causing life-threatening injuries to the toddler.
