A babysitter in Indiana was arrested after she allegedly hit a 7-month-old boy in the face, which severely injured him and caused him to experience brain bleeding.
The Fort Wayne Police Department confirmed that Emily Duran was accused of neglect of a dependent, which resulted in serious bodily injury and battery to a child under 14 by a person at least 18 resulting in serious bodily injury.
The department said that officers responded to a local hospital on December 11 after they received a report of an infant with serious injuries. The alleged incident took place earlier that day in the 100 block of West Superior Street.
The 7-month-old victim’s parents left their son with Duran, 27, shortly before 7 a.m., according to the probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by local outlet WPTA.
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The child was healthy and unharmed when the parents left in the morning, and they didn’t return home until around 5 p.m. After Duran left, the parents noticed “deep purple bruising” on the baby’s face that was visible from his jaw line to his hair line, according to the affidavit.
Duran later texted one of the parents to say that the boy had fallen earlier in the day. The parents then called Duran and recorded the conversation, in which she claimed she and the boy were at the park when he fell off a bench.
The couple took the baby to the hospital and doctors concluded that he was suffering from a brain bleed, per the affidavit.
The charging documents explained that medical examiners looked at the child’s injuries and concluded that there was “no explanation other than child abuse.” Additionally, it was reported that the child’s injuries were “inflicted” and could not have been obtained from an accident.
Duran was later located by police and was interviewed by authorities regarding the child’s injuries on December 19.
She was read her Miranda rights before she reportedly admitted to slapping the boy on one side of his face, as well as backhanding him on the other side of his face, according to WPTA. The defendant also allegedly said she “slapped him as hard as you would slap an adult,” per the charging documents.
Following the interview, Duran was taken to the Allen County Jail. She has since been released on bond, while her next court hearing is scheduled to take place on January 12, 2026.
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It is not currently clear if Duran has obtained legal representation or entered a plea in the case.
If Duran is found guilty of neglect of a dependent, she could be sentenced to serve between 20 and 40 years in prison with the advisory sentence being 30 years, according to the Keffer Hirschauer LLP website. Additionally, anyone found guilty of the charge could be fined up to $10,000.
The law firm’s website also states that Indiana has implemented “harsh penalties” for those found guilty of neglect of a dependent in order to demonstrate that the state “takes a no-tolerance approach towards combatting neglect and is willing to take swift action to protect children around the state.”
