JAYDEN SHEETS - 3 months - Anderson IN

ANDERSON, Ind. — A mother accused of neglecting to keep her
boyfriend from battering her infant son claims she’s a good mom and doesn’t belong in jail.
Brittney Bland, 20, was arrested and charged
with felony neglect after she brought her 14-week-old son, Jayden, to
Saint John’s Medical Center emergency room Monday.

Doctors discovered that Jayden was suffering from a skull fracture, a torn frenulum and a bruised head.
Upon further examination, doctors found that the baby had suffered two
broken legs, two broken wrists, a broken ankle and a broken arm in his short life.
Ann Houseworth of the Department of Child Services said Jayden is now in stable condition at Riley Hospital for Children.
The infant’s father, Justin Sheets, 22, was arrested and charged with felony neglect and felony battery.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Bland told police that Sheets repeatedly hit Jayden in the face.
“Justin has swung Jayden around, while holding him by the feet. Justin has
several times hit Jayden in the face, with a bottle because he would
not drink it. Justin has continuously, since Jayden’s birth, handled
him in a rough manner that could cause these injuries,” the probable cause affidavit states.
Bland also told police that Sheets sometimes
flicked Jayden in the testicles during diaper changes when the baby
wouldn’t stop crying, stating that “it gives him something to cry about.”
Bland spoke to The Herald Bulletin on Tuesday and stated
that she knew Sheets was “rough” with Jayden, but didn’t know how severe the baby’s injuries were.
“I mean there was no bumps, bruises, I’d never seen Justin handle him to where I thought something
would actually like hurt him, hurt him, you know, more than just make
him cry a little bit, you know,” Bland said Tuesday.
Bland insisted that she’s a good mother. “I love being a mom. It’s my life.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, Bland still didn’t know whether her son survived his injuries.
“I wouldn’t hurt my baby. I just want to know how he’s doing and they won’t even tell me. I want to just know if he’s OK.”
“I saw him right before they took him off and they let me see him and hold
his hand and give him kisses, and it just made me feel like it’s all a
piece of crap because I didn’t know, and I just want to hold him. I
just want to hold him real tight, but I couldn’t because they had him on the machines.”
Bland said she knew Sheets was hurting her child,
but didn’t think it was serious. “If I would have knew that, I would’ve gotten him out.”
Though her son had two broken legs and two broken
wrists along with a broken ankle and broken arm, Bland said she had no
indication that there was anything wrong with him and only brought him
to the emergency room Monday because he had a cold, a fever and a swollen ankle.
She thought the ankle was swollen because he was retaining water.
Upon examination, doctors also found that the infant is underweight.
At 10 pounds, the 14-week-old baby is too light, Bland admits, but insists
that she fed him 8 ounces of formula every three hours.
Bland’s 16-month-old son was taken from the home and placed in protective custody by the Department of Child Services, DCS.
Protective orders have been issued against both parents, keeping them from having contact with Jayden.
Houseworth said DCS did not have an active file on Jayden Sheets.
Legally, DCS cannot disclose details of a particular case, including whether or
not any abuse complaints had been leveled against the couple, but
Houseworth said the agency didn’t have an open assessment of the family as of Monday.
Police and DCS are now investigating the couple and the possibility that Jayden was abused.
Facing felony neglect charges, Bland said she deserves to have her children back.
“I felt that Justin was a little rough with him but I didn’t think that he
was hurting him. If I thought he was hurting him, I would have called
my mom and my sister and they would have came and got me and both my
babies and I would’ve left.”
Houseworth said it’s not uncommon for DCS to encounter a serious abuse case without first receiving complaints from neighbors.
Many people admit later that they thought something was wrong, she said, but fail to report abuse.
The state child abuse hotline is 1-800-800-5556.

A man admitted to abusing his infant son, pleading guilty this week to six felony charges of harming the boy who was 14 weeks old when the abuse happened.Justin Sheets and the boy's mother, Brittney Bland, were arrested in January after the boy was found to have numerous injuries, including a ripped lip, fractured skull and broken arms and legs.The Anderson Herald Bulletin reported Wednesday that Sheets could be sentenced next month from 6 to 20 years in prison on each count.
Police said Sheets admitted he had handled the child roughly, dropped him on his head, and that he had little tolerance for when the infant cried. The couple also has an older child.Bland still faces felony charges of neglect of a dependent.