WEST JORDAN — Two West Jordan parents and a grandmother are facing criminal charges accusing them of abusing their newborn baby.
Caydin Thomas Turner, 22, Leimoani Arryana Lemau, 25, and Ana Moani Lemau, 44, were each charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with 16 counts of aggravated child abuse, a first-degree felony.
The investigation began in June when a 2-week-old girl was taken to a local hospital and was found to have "multiple injuries, including bruises on her face, fractures on both legs, and an abnormality on her (buttocks)," according to charging documents.
Turner, the girl's father, said the girl had "experienced constipation" since birth, the charges state, but he did not have an explanation for the bruises on the infant's face.
Leimoani Lemau is the girl's mother and Ana Leamu is her grandmother. Both of them also helped watch the girl and could not account for the bruising.
When a doctor questioned the parents about the bruising on the infant's face, they claimed it may have been the result of her scratching herself. But the doctor said babies are "not capable of causing bruising like that," while also calling the bruises "weird and abnormal," charging documents state.
During a subsequent exam the next day, leg fractures were discovered, according to the charges, and during a follow-up exam two weeks later, rib fractures were discovered. The Center for Safe and Healthy Families at Primary Children's Hospital determined the "injuries are consistent with inflicted trauma."
Child abuse resources:
- Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465). Resources are also available online: udvc.org. The statewide child abuse and neglect hotline is 1-855-323-DCFS (3237).
Help with children
Those who feel stressed out with a child, who need a break or who feel like they need counseling or training can reach out to one of the following agencies:
- The Family Support Center has 15 locations throughout the state and offers a free crisis nursery for parents who have to keep appointments or who are stressed out. They also offer counseling and family mentoring. Call 801-955-9110 or visit familysupportcenter.org/contact.php for more information.
- Prevent Child Abuse Utah provides home visiting in Weber, Davis, and Box Elder counties. Parent Educators provide support, education, and activities for families with young children. Their statewide education team offers diverse trainings on protective factors, digital safety, bullying, and child sex trafficking. They are available for in-person or virtual trainings and offer free online courses for the community at pcautah.org.
- The Office of Home Visiting works with local agencies to provide home visits to pregnant women and young families who would like to know more about being parents. Home visitors are trained and can provide information about breastfeeding, developmental milestones, toilet training, nutrition, mental health, home safety, child development, and much more. Find out more at homevisiting.utah.gov.
- The Safe Haven law allows birth parents in Utah to safely and anonymously give up custody of their newborn child at any hospital in the state, with no legal consequences and no questions asked. The child's mother can drop off the child, or the mother can ask someone else to do it for her. The newborns should be dropped off at hospitals that are open 24 hours a day. Newborns given up in this manner will be cared for by the hospital staff, and the Utah Division of Child and Family Services will find a home for the child. For more information, visit utahsafehaven.org or call the 24-hour hotline at 866-458-0058.
