An 18-year-old Indiana man has been charged with battery after law enforcement officers said that he bit a nine-day-old infant’s face while trying to soothe the baby. This left severe bruising across the child’s entire cheek.
Kaden Manuel Lewis Shrum was charged July 29 with battery resulting in bodily injury to a person younger than 14, a felony, as revealed by court records.
On July 15, Bloomington police and the Indiana Department of Child Services responded to a call about child abuse after a pediatrician noted concerns about the newborn’s injuries. The infant was taken to a hospital, where medical staff concluded that the marks were consistent with bites, as revealed in the probable cause affidavit, according to Law & Crime.
He is not human, he should be locked up somewhere with animals
— SeaJ🍀🌹 (@seanellys) August 5, 2026
While at the hospital, Shrum allegedly told relatives and investigators that he was responsible for the child’s injuries, the affidavit states.
In an interview with Bloomington police, Shrum said he had been watching the newborn when the baby began crying around 4 a.m. He told investigators he first tried nibbling on the infant’s cheek to soothe the child, then placed the baby’s cheek in his mouth and bit down repeatedly in what he described to police as a chomping motion, according to the affidavit. Shrum allegedly said the baby’s face afterward resembled a “busted up egg.”
This is one of the most stomach-turning things I’ve read in a while. An 18-year-old responds to a 9-day-old baby crying at 4 a.m. by nibbling, then full on chomping the kid’s face until it looks like a busted up egg.There is no spin, no excuse, no mental health fog that makes…
— phemz (@fizzbizzie) August 5, 2026
Investigators concluded the bruising matched Shrum’s own account of the incident and arrested him on the felony charge. The child abuse case is not Shrum’s only pending legal matter.
Court records reveal he also faces separate felony charges of battery with a deadly weapon and criminal recklessness, along with a misdemeanor battery charge in an unrelated case. Those allegations remain pending.
If convicted of the Level 5 felony charge in the infant case, Shrum could face several years in prison under Indiana sentencing guidelines. He was booked into the Monroe County Jail and later released after posting $5,000 bond.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page announced “warrant served” by BPD for the Indiana teen on August 3, 2026. A jury trial in the case is scheduled to begin Jan. 11, 2027, in Monroe County.
Disclaimer: Inquisitr could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available.
