Youngwood father of 3-month-old boy arraigned on child abuse charges

Published: Saturday, April 12, 2014, 12:01a.m. Updated 11 hours ago

A 3-month-old boy suffered head trauma, brain injury, seizures and other medical complications from physical abuse by his father in a Youngwood home last month, state police at Greensburg said.

Tyler James Priggins, 26, was arraigned on Thursday on charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

Priggins was baby sitting his infant son, Dominique, on March 26 when he injured the baby, who became unresponsive, according to court papers.

The infant was taken by ambulance to Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg, where he was given emergency treatment to aid his breathing, and was then flown to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh due to his grave condition, police said.

A Children's doctor determined Dominique was physically abused and would have died had he not received medical attention when he did, police said.

The physician also related that the injuries that the victim sustained were not accidental, nor could they be self-inflicted, according to a police affidavit.

In addition to the head trauma, the infant had bruises on his shoulders, police said.

State police questioned Priggins in late March.

The defendant made several statements to investigators indicating he was the cause of the injuries to the victim and stated, It had to be me; I was the only adult there,' according to the affidavit.

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Youngwood father of 3-month-old boy arraigned on child abuse charges