"Baby Jane Doe" - 9 Months/ Accused: Donald Bayne - Fruitport MI

FRUITPORT, Mich—

A Fruitport man is charged with child abuse and torture because prosecutors believe he severely beat a 9-month-old baby girl.

Police said Donald Thomas Bayne, 23, was arraigned Monday afternoon on felony charges of torture, first-degree child abuse and being a habitual offender. Bayne was already on probation from a 2009 felony for shooting and beating a dog to death.

“Certainly, in our mind, he's a very dangerous individual,” Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague told Fox 17 News.

Prosecutor Tague said the infant abuse happened around 3:30 p.m., February 1, when the infant's mother was at work. Bayne, the mother’s boyfriend, was babysitting the girl at his Fruitport home when investigators believe he hit the girl repeatedly in the back of the head with his closed fist because she wouldn’t stop crying in her playpen.

Neighbors saw the aftermath when police arrived on scene in Fruitport. They also saw how Bayne reacted.

“He was actually [outside]. He was very upset. He got on the cell phone and called the child’s mother,” said Mark Boone, who lives next door. “I seen that little girl hauled out of there with a limp body… very disturbing, that’s all I can say.”

The infant is in critical condition at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids. Tague said the damage is severe and likely long-lasting.

“Certainly the quality of life of that child is gone,” said Tague.

Bayne faces up to life in prison for the torture charge. The first degree child abuse charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Bayne will be back in court for a preliminary hearing on February 16^th at 1:30 pm.

Authorities are still investigating the incident at this time.

http://www.wsbt.com/news/fox17-donald-bayne-man-arraigned-on-infant-abuse-torture-charges-20120206,0,7002559.story