By Thomas J. Sheeran
Associated Press
CLEVELAND — A father who was charged with felony child endangering when a diaper wipe was found lodged in his infant son’s throat maintains it was an accident and will fight the allegation, his attorney said Monday.
Joshua Rains, 25, of Cleveland, was released on bond following a court hearing Saturday.
Another court hearing on the evidence was scheduled for Nov. 22, and his attorney said Rains would try to show the incident was unintentional.
“Police believe it might be an accident,” said his defense attorney, Daniel Margolis. “And it’s our contention that it was an accident.”
The police report said the 2-month-old was unresponsive when an ambulance crew arrived at the family’s home on Nov. 7. The baby needed to be placed on life support, but he was listed in good condition Monday at a hospital.
The police report said those at the scene believe “the baby’s injuries are not consistent to the father’s statement.”
The father told police that he cleaned the baby’s mouth and then the wipe disappeared.
“Once he noticed the child had swallowed the baby wipe, he tried to pull it out, but only jammed it further down the child’s throat,” the police report said.
Rains’ other children have been placed in county custody, Margolis said.
A person who gave a statement to police at the scene said the infant “was injured when it was five days and when it was treated for a detached eye lens, but never reported to police.” The person’s name and relationship were deleted from the report before it was released.
Rains could not be reached for comment. The phone number listed for him in court documents rang unanswered Monday.