BOONE COUNTY, IN – A man from Indiana was sentenced to prison after admitting to biting his newborn daughter. Gavan Rogers, 26, received a three-year sentence last week from Boone Circuit Court Judge Lori Schein. Rogers, from Greencastle, will serve one year in the Indiana Department of Corrections and the other two years on supervised probation.
Rogers had pleaded guilty to one count of domestic battery that resulted in bodily injury to a person younger than 14, as per Boone County court records. He had already served three months in the local county jail and nine months with Boone County Community Corrections, which will be credited towards his sentence.
The police were informed by medical staff at Witham Hospital in Lebanon of the infant’s injuries, which came to light during a postnatal check-up on November 3, 2022. The two-week-old girl had multiple bruises on her wrists, shoulder, and knee.
According to court reports, Rogers, the baby’s father, suggested to hospital personnel that he might have “play bit” or “open mouth kissed” his daughter too forcefully. A detective confirmed after reviewing photos of the child that there appeared to be at least six bite marks.
Healthcare professionals, on discovering the bite-like bruises, transferred the baby girl to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis and informed the Indiana Department of Child Services.
Allegedly, when the child was in a neonatal intensive care unit, nursing staff had reported instances where Rogers made derogatory comments about the baby, such as calling her “evil” and “ungrateful.”
In accepting his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped a separate count of neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury, Rogers was taken into custody initially on March 14, 2023.