EAGLE LAKE, Fla. — Polk County Sheriff's Office arrested a 24-year-old man in Eagle Lake accused of critically injuring a 3-month-old baby who was in his care.
According to PCSO, the investigation began on Nov. 26 when deputies received a 911 call about an unresponsive baby boy at a home in Eagle Lake. The suspect, Zachary Ingram, told investigators the baby was sleeping in his swing when he went to the bathroom for 10 to 15 minutes, and when he returned, the baby was pale and unresponsive.
Ingram told investigators he then called the baby's mother and told her the baby wasn't breathing. She told him to hang up and call 911. He performed CPR until first responders arrived.
Authorities said several medical tests done at the hospital showed the baby suffered a brain bleed and slight bruising to his lower abdominal area. He was transferred to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, where an additional CT scan was done to confirm a brain bleed and hemorrhaging. Officials said he remains in critical condition.
PCSO said during the initial interviews with the baby's mother and the suspect, they made statements saying a two-year-old child in the home hit the baby with a rattle or that the baby's mother tripped and fell while holding the baby, and the baby possibly hit his head during that time. Eventually, Ingram told detectives in the following interviews that he shook the baby while holding him and that he possibly shook the baby harder than he thought.
Detectives searched video footage at two different stores in Polk County and confirmed that the baby's mother was not home at the time the injuries occurred. Ingram was the only adult in the home with the baby.
According to the affidavit, PCSO contacted St. Joseph's Hospital, which confirmed the baby's injuries were consistent with the child being violently shaken and advised that the injuries sustained were a clear indication of child abuse. Medical professionals expressed that the baby's injuries will most likely cause permanent disability to his brain, causing the incident to meet the requirements of aggravated child abuse.
"The abuse that this baby suffered at the hands of his caregiver is simply unfathomable. We pray that this baby is able to recover from his significant injuries, and that the suspect is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," said Sheriff Grady Judd.
PCSO charged Ingram with aggravated child abuse on Dec. 8.
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