A 26-year-old Miami-Dade County mother has been charged with multiple counts of child abuse after deputies say her 7-month-old son was found with a spinal fracture and multiple broken bones while under her care.
According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, the infant was taken to Holtz Children’s Hospital on Dec. 11 after caregivers reported he was experiencing pain in his left leg. Medical examinations revealed a fracture to the child’s spine, a broken left femur, and fractures to both tibias, authorities said.
The child was living at a residence near the 1300 block of Northwest 79th Street in the Gladeview area.
Investigators said the child’s mother, Johana Barrera Delgado, initially denied abusing her son and told deputies the injuries may have occurred while he was being babysat by a family member.
On Dec. 17, the babysitter told deputies she had left the baby on a bed with her daughter and briefly stepped away. When she returned moments later after hearing the baby cry, she was unsure whether her daughter may have struck him, authorities said.
The following day, the babysitter went to the Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Bureau, where investigators arranged a monitored phone call between her and Barrera Delgado. During the call, deputies said Barrera Delgado instructed the babysitter to “continue with the story” previously given to law enforcement and told her “everything would be OK.”
Authorities said Barrera Delgado later claimed the child was dropped off at her home with a swollen leg and was not injured while in her care.
Later that same day, investigators interviewed Barrera Delgado at the Special Victims Bureau. During the interview, deputies said she admitted the infant had fallen off her bed multiple times while under her care. She also admitted to grabbing the child’s left leg and placing his foot into his mouth, according to the arrest report.
Jail records show Barrera Delgado, a Nicaraguan national, is charged with aggravated child abuse causing great bodily harm, child neglect causing great bodily harm, and tampering with a victim or witness.
She remains in custody at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on an immigration hold, with bond listed as “to be set.” A judge also ordered her to have no contact with the child and prohibited her from possessing drugs, weapons, or firearms.