A Lehigh Acres man has been arrested for suspected child abuse accused of becoming angry with his crying baby and smashing the baby’s head into a door jamb.
Chancelor Rolle, 24, was arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 5, after Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a home on Gordon Avenue South regarding a call about a hurt child.
In the investigation, which Sheriff Carmine Marceno called “difficult” and “intense,” detectives learned that “the father … was furious that the baby was crying, and because it was crying, he starts to violently shake the baby and smash the baby’s head into a doorjamb.”
“Sickening is an understatement. There are no words for this,” Marceno said in an announcement about the arrest on Thursday, Aug. 6.
The child, whose age is unknown by the News-Press at this time, was transported to the Golisano Children’s Hospital and is being treated for its injuries.
The sheriff called the act “disgraceful.”
“This person needs to rot in jail,” Marceno said.
The child’s mother was not home at the time of the incident. Marceno said that the shaking of the baby alone could have killed the child.
The investigation is ongoing.
Rolle was booked into the Lee County Jail at around 5:30 a.m. Thursday. He faces one count of aggravated child abuse, a first-degree felony.
His bond has not been set and he remains in custody. He is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 8.
Tayeba Hussein is a breaking news reporter for The News-Press & Naples Daily News. Reach her at thussein@usatodayco.com.
Please support Southwest Florida community journalism and stay informed about Southwest Florida news by subscribing to The News-Press and Naples Daily News; download the free News-Press or Naples Daily News app, and sign up for daily briefing email newsletter, food & dining and growth & development newsletters here and here.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida man suspected of angrily smashing baby’s head, Lee sheriff says
Reporting by Tayeba Hussein, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tayeba Hussein, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
