Prosecutors say they will not file criminal charges after authorities determined that a young child attacked a baby boy at an Indiana daycare, reportedly sending him to the hospital last month.
According to The Associated Press, a medical professional said 1-year-old Jesse Griffin's injuries – a bloody, cut face and swollen eyes – were caused by another child at Kiddiegarden in Indianapolis, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said in a statement Thursday.
Jesse "was reportedly placed in a safe sleeping environment in the same room as an age-appropriate child and checked on ... periodically" by a day care employee, the statement said.
The findings echoed workers' previous claims that a 2-year-old girl had attacked the boy.
The news comes after a photo showing the boy's injuries went viral, sparking debate over whether a toddler – and not an adult – could have caused so much harm.
WXIN-TV reported earlier this month that when the boy's mother, Tiffany Griffin, saw her son's injuries, she punched the day care worker, who claimed that the toddler girl had attacked Jesse.
At the time, Griffin said there was "no way" that the girl caused Jesse's injuries.
"She didn't look like she was the violent type, and her mom said she wasn't the violent type," Griffin told WXIN.
The boy was examined at a nearby hospital.
Immediately after the incident, Kiddiegarden issued a statement saying it was "deeply saddened about what took place," WXIN reported.
"This was truly a sad, shocking and unfortunate event," the statement read, in part. "We have been diligently working with law enforcement, child protective services, as well as state agencies on this matter. We have been fully cooperative and transparent with law enforcement to complete their investigation."
The licensed day care "has never had any accusations of abuse or maltreatment from any of our children or parents," the statement also said.
The worker reportedly was fired, WXIN reported.
On Thursday, Jesse's father, Jesse Harris, condemned officials' findings in a statement of his own.
"Welcome to America, where a 1-year-old baby can be beat, and no one is held accountable," he said.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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