A 2-month-old Connecticut boy is barely alive after his father broke 29 bones in his body in a harrowing case of child abuse, according to court documents obtained by The Day of New London.
The father, Navy sailor Jordan Rittenhouse, is accused of fracturing his infant son's ribs and other bones by squeezing the baby, according to Dr. Andrea Asnes, who is treating the victim.
The alleged abuse is "the worst case of serious physical injury [Dr. Asnes] has seen in her career," according to the court documents.
Rittenhouse, 24, was arraigned Friday and charged with first-degree assault and risk of injury to a minor.
The child's injuries were discovered Monday when his mother, Krishna Rittenhouse, brought her son to a New London hospital because he was barely eating.
When doctors found the rib fractures, Krishna Rittenhouse said the baby might have brittle bones due to her own calcium and iron deficiences.
But medical experts at Yale-New Haven Hospital, where her son was transferred, said it was "highly unlikely" the rib fractures were caused by brittle bones, according to an arrest warrant obtained by the newspaper.
Connecticut Department of Children and Families filed a report with police on Tuesday.
Krishna told police she never harmed her son. She also said she never saw Jordan hurt him, but that he had frustration in his voice when he fed him.
When police interviewed Jordan Wednesday, he said he was under a lot of pressure to do well in Naval Submarine School in Groton, which he has been attending since January.
The North Carolina native initially denied hurting his son but later said, "I may have squeezed him at some point, but I am afraid for my career," the arrest warrant reads.
Jordan eventually admitted to squeezing the 2-month-old at least eight times to the point where he stopped crying. On one occasion he squeezed so hard he thought he punctured a lung, according to the warrant.
He also once shoved a bottle into his son's mouth, causing the infant to bleed.
Jordan was held on $500,000 bond and is expected to appear in court on Sept. 10, The Day reported.
