Millcreek man charged with abusing baby girl

MILLCREEK — A Millcreek man faces charges after police say he abused his then-3-month-old daughter multiple times in 2008.

When the child was taken to Primary Children's Medical Center on Dec. 3, 2008, doctors noticed she had a bruise on her left cheek and injuries in her mouth and on her back, according to charges filed Monday in 3rd District Court.

Lori Frasier, director of the medical assessment team at Primary, said the baby most likely received the mouth injury from someone poking a finger in her mouth, and that the cheek injury resembled a bite or pinch mark, according to the charges.

The child was brought in to the medical center a second time on Dec. 16, when X-rays showed she had a broken right femur and multiple healing fractures, which doctors said likely happened within the past month, the charges state.

The mother reported to deputies that she received a protective order against the child's father, Leland Cook, 21, following a fight on Nov. 17 of that year, and he first saw the child following that incident on Dec. 3.

Cook moved back in with the mother a few days later. Shortly after that, the mother noticed her baby's leg was tender to the touch, the charges state. However, Cook and the mother's uncle, who looked after the baby while the mother was at work, said Cook was never left alone with the child.

Cook is charged with three counts of second-degree felony child abuse.

— Lana Groves