On January 25, police were called to Clear Lake Regional Hospital to investigate a case of a two-year-old who suffered multiple internal injuries. According to court documents, the girl's father took her to the hospital after he had picked her up from her mother's house.
Reese Esthruch Bateman, 33, is the boyfriend of the girl's mother, and he was reportedly babysitting her while her mother was at work that day. Bateman told police that the girl's mother had called and told him to go to the store and buy cat food. He says the toddler was sleeping in her crib when he left, and was still in the crib when he returned. Bateman says he later checked on the girl and found her sitting on the floor, and then discovered bruises.
Bateman faces a felony charge of abandoning a child. Bail is set at $2,000.
