Doctors agree that the injuries of the abused baby are not the result of a single action

BarcelonaThe pediatrician from the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona who raised the alarm about child abuse in the newborn who was later admitted to the Vall d'Hebron ICU has testified before the judge that the child's anal injuries are not the result of a single action. Legal sources indicate that this doctor also traveled to Vall d'Hebron to treat the child when he was transferred there, as it is the reference center for child abuse and sexual violence. The pediatrician's testimony coincides with that of the pediatric surgeon who already testified in court in June.

This doctor activated the child abuse protocol on March 16, but both she and a nurse from Sant Pau had also attended to the infant the previous week, on the 10th. During this earlier visit, they did not detect the femur injury – because he did not have it yet – which, according to doctors from Vall d'Hebron, could put the newborn's life at risk if a bone fragment tore the femoral artery and made it difficult to examine him. On the visit on the 10th, they also found no anal injury, nor did the staff at the CAP Roger de Flor, who visited him on the 13th. In fact, on the 10th at Sant Pau, they did not examine the infant's anal area and only performed an ultrasound at the CAP's request to try to clarify the origin of a scrotal hematoma.

The parents of the newborn, who are being investigated for sexual assault and child abuse, explained that the hematoma could be a consequence of the placement of a urine bag that had been put on him at the Hospital del Mar. Professionals from this center – and from Sant Joan de Déu, where the child was also seen – will testify before the judge from September onwards, but all healthcare professionals who have testified so far have ruled out that the urine bag was the cause of the hematoma.

Passive and distant

According to the Sant Pau doctor, the child's parents reacted passively when, during the second visit to the center, they were informed that the child abuse protocol was being activated. She also said that they appeared distant with the baby when the doctors examined him.

Since the parents' arrest on March 18, the baby has been with a foster family. The father remains in provisional prison and the Barcelona Court is pending a response to his appeal with which he is trying to be released. The mother has already been released provisionally and next Thursday she will testify again before the judge at her own request.