RICHMOND, Ind. — A Wayne County man has been sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to fracturing a 1-month-old baby's skull, causing brain bleeds. Steven Allen Haggerty, 26, of Richmond, pled guilty this week in Wayne Superior Court to battering a child and neglect of a dependent. Haggerty was then sentenced to nine years in prison and three years of probation. Steven A. Haggerty (via RPD) The charges against Haggerty stem from an April 2023 incident in which a 1-month-old child was taken to Richmond's Reid Hospital with skull, rib and arm fractures and minor brain bleeds. The infant was later taken to Riley Children's Hospital in Indy for further treatment. A doctor with Riley's child protection team told police that the infant's injuries indicated abuse. Doctors reportedly concluded that while the skull and arm fractures were recent, the rib fractures were healing and likely broken on an earlier date. “These findings are suspicious for nonaccidental trauma given the fact that there are fractures of multiple ages,” said the doctor in her report. Haggerty reportedly told police that he had tripped on a dog while holding the infant, causing him to fall into a bassinet and injure the child. He said the baby had hit her head on a metal portion of the bassinet and cried for a short time, but then acted normal. A family member told police they soon noticed that the infant had bruising on her face and that she cried whenever she was moved. After consulting with the child's mother, the infant was taken to the hospital. Police again interviewed Haggerty two days later and questioned why the baby's injuries did not match his description of what happened. That is when Haggerty reportedly admitted to police that he had lied because he knew what happened was wrong and he wanted to avoid trouble. Court documents show how Haggerty admitted to patting the baby on the face on multiple occasions and giving her "strong hugs" to get her to stop crying. Haggerty also said that the night before the baby was hospitalized, he dropped her while getting up from the couch and she hit her head on his knee. He said he then caught the infant by her arm and yanked her back up to his chest, causing her to hit her head again. Police were skeptical of Haggerty's explanation and asked if the circular bruises on the baby’s face were caused by his knuckles during a punch. Haggerty said he never punched the baby, and the bruises were caused by the ring on his finger during pats, documents state. Authorities then placed Haggerty under arrest and he was booked into the Wayne County Jail on various battery and neglect charges. Online court records show that on Tuesday, Sept. 8, Haggerty entered a guilty plea on one count of battery and one count of neglect. He was then sentenced to 12 years in prison, with three years of the sentence being suspended to probation time. Joe Hopkins contributed to this report.