An Alpharetta man turned himself over to authorities last week after a doctor said he slammed his 8-week-old son’s head.
Sultan Powe is facing first degree child abuse charges related to an incident from June 20, when he said his son fell in the bathtub, according to incident reports.
Powe and the boy’s mother, Jessica Chauhan, brought their boy to a nearby hospital after he threw up while eating. She said she noticed a bruise on her son’s cheek but didn’t think much of it because “it wasn’t red or swollen at the time,” according to the report.
When doctors found bleeding on the baby’s brain, they sent him to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite in Sandy Springs.
“Suspicious” injuries led staff to contact social worker and police, who took statements from both parents.
Dr. Hayley Sooknarine said the MRI revealed there was a confirmed fracture of vertebrae near the middle of the spine that could have been as old as three weeks, according to the report.
That would have meant the baby was injured when he was 5 weeks old.
Investigators had to get a judge to sign a warrant for the baby’s medical records and then wait for Sooknarine to return from medical leave.
On Sept. 30, Sooknarine told police the baby’s injuries did not line up with the father’s story about dropping him in the bath tub.
“(The injuries) could not have been caused by the short distance that Sultan stated he dropped him, but by something much more severe such as being slammed down,” Sooknarine told the detective.
An arrest warrant was signed Oct. 26 and Powe turned himself in to police on Nov. 9, police said.
The mother told Channel 2 Action News on Tuesday that her son is doing much better now.
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