Police: Teen Assaulted 2-Year-Old While Babysitting
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A teenage babysitter is facing charges after allegedly assaulting the toddler he was watching.
Police say Joshua Tannous, 19, of Bentleyville, admitted he drank alcohol and smoked marijuana before the alleged abuse.
He was babysitting the 2-year-old victim and her sister at a home in Belle Vernon.
Tannous told police the child would not go to sleep and would not stop screaming and crying.
"He said he was drunk, high. The baby was crying and he snapped. That's what he said," said Chief John Hartman, of the Southwest Regional Police Department.
Tannous, who is originally from West Virginia, was staying with the child's parents and babysitting the girl and her 6-month-old sister.
He told police everything was a blur after he became so angry.
"He indicated he grabbed the baby and shook the baby, slammed the baby down on the ground, dropped the baby at one point," said Chief Hartman.
The 2-year-old suffered severe injuries – including multiple lacerations on her face and arms. Her collarbone was also broken. She is being treated at Children's Hospital.
The physician's report in the criminal complaint said, "There is no reasonable explanation short of a high-speed car accident that can explain these two broken collar bones and a scapula."
"He had admitted that is what he did and apologized to us," Chief Hartman said. "We explained to him that really the apology shouldn't be to us, the apology should be to everyone else."
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