A Baby Was Found With 35 Broken Bones, 27-Year-Old Foster Parent Kyle Rice Faces Child Abuse Charges

An Indianapolis baby in foster care was found with 35 broken bones, and the baby’s caregiver allegedly admitted to police that he caused the baby’s injuries, WISH-TV (Indianapolis) is reporting.

26-year-old Kyle Rice has already put up bond and is free, as of this writing.

Authorities say that Rice’s mother noticed a “suspicious mark” on the baby’s leg, and contacted Rice’s wife. She took the baby girl, whose age has not been made public, to the doctor’s office, and then to a hospital. It was there, at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, that the full extent of the infant’s injuries became clear.

Authorities say that X-rays reveal that the baby had broken bones and other injuries to her hands, legs, feet, and upper and lower back. All told, she had 35 broken bones as well as bruises all over her body.

Rice allegedly admitted the abuse to the police. According to police documents, he was alone with the baby one day when she became “fussy.” At first, Rice tried to give her a bottle, but she spit it out. Then he tried to change her diaper, and she defecated during the diaper change. He tried to console her, but she wouldn’t calm down, Rice allegedly told police.

26 yr old foster father Kyle Rice abused a preemie newborn in his care causing 20 definitive fractures, 15 suspected fractures & multiple soft tissue injuries. SOB https://t.co/9fmPEoU8zH

— Mary Pat Ryan (@MaryPatRyan) February 8, 2018

At this point, Rice allegedly became frustrated. He allegedly admitted to police that he squeezed the baby “really hard,” bent her legs backward, grabbed her hands and feet and squeezed them in his hands.

Rice’s wife says she works full-time while Kyle stayed at home with the kids full-time, and that she wasn’t aware of the baby girl’s injuries. The family had been foster parents “for some time” and had even adopted three children.

Sharon Pierce, who is the president and CEO of The Villages, an Indiana nonprofit child and family services agency, says that children under five are at the greatest risk of child abuse and neglect. She also hopes that this horrifying case can serve as a learning experience.

“I think for those of us who work in the child welfare system it’s ‘what can we learn to prevent this from ever happening again?”

It is not clear, as of this writing, how much Kyle Rice paid for his bond. His trial is scheduled for April.