ADAM BRADEN MARSHALL - 4 Months - Yukon (W of OK City) OK

Yukon OK ---- The Canadian County District
Attorney has charged an 18 year old with felony child abuse for
allegedly using an infant as a "stress ball."

Doctors notified authorities after they noticed
marks consistent with child abuse on a 3 month old who had been brought
in for treatment.

Authorities later learned Sage Marshall had squeezed the 3-month-old boy, bruising him and breaking his ribs.






A police affidavit stated Marshall told police he
used the boy as a "stress ball" and squeezed the infant to make him stop
crying.

Marshall also admitted that he would sometimes
become "so angry" with the child that he "sees stars and gets tunnel
vision," accord to the affidavit.

It is unclear what relationship Marshall has with the boy, however, police said Marshall is not the infant's father.

Marshall's bond was set at $10,000.

18-year-old Sage Marshall was
freed from the Canadian County Jail Sunday nearly 12 hours after his
early morning arrest. He and his girlfriend Brittney Cobbs are living
with Marshall's parents and younger sister in their duplex on Kingsgate
Road in Yukon.
Cobb's 4-month-old son, Adam Braden Marshall was taken into custody by the
Department of Health Services last month after doctors at Canadian
Valley Regional Hospital found bruises on the baby’s chest and legs and
discovered several cracked ribs.

Micah Stirling of "Prevent Child Abuse, an organization dedicated to
preventing and educating parents about child maltreatment says poverty,
age, and lack of education often play as high-risk factors in child abuse cases.

“Physical abuse typically occurs when a caregiver is overwhelmed, stressed, or
doesn't know how to react to a child's behavior [and] lacks information
and education,” Stirling said.

The affidavit states Marshall admitted to authorities to seeing “stars” and
"tunnel vision" when his anger would escalate. Marshall also states
that he had squeezed the baby like a "stress ball", out of frustration.

“If the caretaker is not bonded to the child they might react in a way that
is inappropriate or in a way that might even hurt the child,” Stirling said.

According to Stirling, last year there were 51 deaths in Oklahoma caused by child
maltreatment. 82 percent of the victims were 2-years-old or younger.

Sage Marshall’s father, Patrick Marshall declined to comment on his son’s case.