Lincoln man charged with abusing baby

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A Lincoln man is accused of repeatedly abusing a 2-month-old infant.

Robert Herbert, 34, was arrested Monday and charged with intentional child abuse resulting in injury.

The case began in March, when the girl was taken to the children’s hospital in Omaha for difficulty breathing.

But doctors there found much more, according to court documents: a skull fracture, seven broken ribs and several bruises.

Hospital staff determined that the skull fracture was caused by blunt force trauma, an arrest affidavit says.

Herbert told police that the child’s broken ribs could have been caused by him squeezing her legs and torso together too tightly while helping her defecate.

He also suggested that his dog may have stepped on the baby, police said.

Herbert told officers that he accidentally hit the girl in the head with a car seat while taking it apart to clean it, according to the affidavit. But he said she didn’t have any visible injury.

Meanwhile, officers interviewed a witness who recounted the same events as Herbert but said they didn’t appear to be accidents.

The witness said Herbert squeezed the baby so hard while helping her defecate that “his arms were shaking,” according to the affidavit.

She also said that Herbert hit the child with the car seat “out of frustration,” court records say.

The day the child was taken to the hospital, Herbert had forced water into her nose to clear her congestion, the witness said.

The baby started choking and turned blue, according to the affidavit.

When officers tried to arrest Herbert, he fought back, police said.

After a brief struggle, officers brought him to the ground and placed him in handcuffs, according to court documents.

On Tuesday, a judge set Herbert’s bond at $100,000. He must pay 10% of that — $10,000 — to be released from jail.

Herbert is due back in court on July 16.