The three-month old baby is still in the care of Emmanuel Hospital in the pediatrics intensive care unit.
(SWEET HOME, Ore.) - A Sweet Home man is in custody on a child abuse allegation that apparently involved an infant choking on a napkin. Detective Rick Fontaine with the Benton County Sheriff's Office says deputies were dispatched to Good Samaritan Hospital emergency room late in the evening on January 16th for a report of a possible child abuse incident.
Upon arrival, deputies met with emergency room personnel who told them that a three-month old infant, Payton Morris, was brought to the hospital by ambulance following a reported choking incident. Upon further evaluation, it was determined there may be an injury to the baby's throat.
Fontaine says the baby was subsequently transported to Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon for further evaluation and treatment.
Benton County Sheriff's Office detectives interviewed 19-year old Michael Jay Henthorne, who indicated that while babysitting Payton, the baby inhaled a napkin that then lodged in his throat.
Henthorne reported he was unable to remove the napkin from the baby's throat so he called 911 for assistance.
Vanessa Morris who is the mother of Payton Morris and lives at the residence on NE Cori Court in Adair Village, was away at the time and had left the baby in the care of Henthorne who is described as her boyfriend, Fontaine said.
"Henthorne is not the biological father of Payton. Based on subsequent information and investigation by Sheriff's Office deputies, and reports from medical personnel at Emmanuel Hospital, Michael Henthorne was arrested on January 18th and lodged in the Benton County Corrections facility on a charge of Assault in the First Degree."
Additional charges against Henthorne include three counts of Assault in the Second Degree, three counts of Assault in the Third Degree, and one count of Criminal Mistreatment.
Payton Morris is still in the care of Emmanuel Hospital in the pediatrics intensive care unit.
Sweet Home Man Arrested for AssaultSalem-News.com