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STANSBURY PARK — A Stansbury Park man accused of causing severe head trauma to a 17-month-old boy is facing a felony count of child abuse.
Justin Arryn Lawless, 27, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with intentional child abuse, inflicting serious injury, a second-degree felony.
According to court documents, the injuries suffered by the son of Lawless' girlfriend were "comparable to a person who is unrestrained in a vehicle going 80 mph and crashing."
"The doctor went on to say that this was no accident and was done intentionally," the charges state.
On Dec. 16, Lawless claimed the boy fell off a couch and hit his head on a carpeted floor, according to charging documents. Lawless was alone with the boy at the time and there were no witnesses, according to investigators.
Doctors, however, found the boy was suffering from a "severe brain bleed" in addition to other facial injuries, the charges state. The boy was rushed into surgery and at the time the charges were written, placed in a medically induced coma. The charges state that doctors were unsure if the boy would survive.
When confronted by police that the injuries were not accidental, Lawless did not have an explanation for how the boy got such severe injuries during such a short amount of time he was alone with him, the charges state.
An initial appearance for Lawless was scheduled for Thursday.
