LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Louisville Metro Police say they've arrested a man wanted out of Jeffersonville, Ind. for allegedly beating a 3-year-old child, breaking his jaw.

According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by WDRB News, a case worker from the Indiana Department of Child Services was sent to the emergency room at Clark County Memorial Hospital after a 3-year-old was brought in with significant injuries on July 15. A first glace, the arrest report indicates the boy's injuries included: "bruising and scratches to the buttocks and hips, swelling to the face, bruising to the forearm and abrasions to the wrist."
He was also lethargic and drooling blood. After examining the child, the case worker interviewed the boy's mother and her boyfriend, 21-year-old Troy Woods. Woods said that he had been babysitting the boy (whom WDRB News will refer to as "Jeffrey" throughout this story, though that is not his name) earlier in the day. He told the case worker that Jeffrey had been playing with other children, and as he was taking him back to his apartment, the boy tripped and hit his chin on some steps.

He also said that earlier in the day, Jeffrey had urinated on himself and he had "given him a whoopin'" by pulling out a belt and striking him five times, either with his hand or the belt. He allegedly stated that he and his girlfriend routinely punish the boy with their hands or a belt."Mr. Woods appeared quite defensive, questioning [the case worker] why it was necessary for her to take notes during the interview," the probable cause affidavit states.

"At one point, Mr. Woods accused [the case worker] of disciplining her children using a belt, asserting that the utilization of a belt to discipline children is acceptable." The boy's mother allegedly told the case worker that Woods disciplined the boy in this manner, often two or three times a day because "he gets in trouble" often. She also called Jeffrey "accident prone" and said this explained many of his injuries.

A gruesome discovery

According to the probable cause affidavit, Jeffersonville Police were contacted by the boy's grandparents while he was still at the hospital. They explained that they had seen the boy drooling blood before he was taken to the emergency room, and they quickly went to Woods' apartment "in an attempt to locate evidence."

While there, they allegedly discovered a trash bag inside the dumpster that contained: a white belt with feces on it, a children's undershirt with what appeared to be saliva-diluted blood stains, and several blood-stained napkins. Jeffrey's mother later allegedly admitted that the clothes and belt belonged to her child. On July 17 -- two days after the 3-year-old was taken to the hospital -- the Indiana Department of Child Services case worker was notified that the child's x-rays had been studied and it was revealed that the child had sustained a broken jaw. Confession?

The next day, Woods was called in for questioning by the Jeffersonville Police Department. Police say he again tried to use the stairs incident to explain Jeffrey's injuries, but pressed further, "he began to divulge additional details in his original series of events." He allegedly said that at one point while he and Jeffrey were in the apartment, the 3-year-old tried to plug in the television and he "tapped him one time on the chin" to stop him from electrocuting himself. "I might have hit him a little hard," he allegedly told police. He also said the inside of the boy's mouth was bleeding and he used the boy's shirt to soak up the blood.