"Baby Jane" ORTON-BERNHARDT - 2 months - Cottage Grove OR

COTTAGE GROVE — A frantic couple flagged down police
officers early Sunday morning, telling them that their 2-month-old daughter was
accidentally injured when she was stepped on at the family’s residence.

By Tuesday, the child’s father, 21-year-old Michael
O. Orton, was in the Lane County Jail on a charge of first-degree assault, his
bail set at $250,000.

The child’s mother, 21-year-old Antoinette Lori
Bernhardt, was arrested on a charge of first-degree criminal mistreatment.
Bernhardt was taken to Lane County Jail but is no longer being held there.

Officers said they were flagged down by the couple
around 1 a.m. Sunday along the 200 block of Gateway Boulevard just west of
Interstate 5. The couple told officers they were on their way to the hospital,
police said.

Police took the couple and the infant to Cottage
Grove Community Hospital. Because the infant’s injuries were so severe, she was
transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield, where
significant skeletal injuries were found, police said.

The infant’s condition as of Tuesday evening was
unknown, but Police Chief Mike Grover said he did not believe the injuries were
life-threatening.

Grover did say that what appears to be previous
injuries were discovered when the infant was examined at RiverBend.

An investigation into the incident that included an
interview with Orton led police to arrest him on Sunday. On Monday, police said
they interviewed Bernhardt and then arrested her.

First-degree assault is a Class A felony and Measure
11 crime that carries a minimum mandatory sentence upon conviction.