A Plum woman is accused of abusing a 13-month-old boy after the child was diagnosed with a skull fracture.
Borough police said Sofia Eve Udavcak, 19, at first claimed her son had suffered the injuries in a number of falls, but later admitted to not seeking medical attention for him after dropping him onto a cement walkway, according to a criminal complaint.
Borough police charged Udavcak on Thursday with three counts of felony aggravated assault, a felony charge of child endangerment and a misdemeanor count of simple assault.
A Plum police detective interviewed Udavcak on Oct. 31 after a child line report from a person who had seen the child in a public place with injuries to his head and face, police said in a criminal complaint.
When an officer saw the child on Oct. 31, he had a quarter-sized bruise on his left cheek, a small bruise in the center of his forehead, a scrape above his right eyebrow and a large, swollen bruise along the right side of his face, police said in the complaint.
Asked about the injuries, Udavcak said they were the result of falls, the complaint states. She claimed one was when she lost her grip on her son while bathing him while others were suffered when he lost his balance and fell.
The boy was diagnosed with a skull fracture after being evaluated by a child advocacy physician at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh on Oct. 31. He was admitted to the hospital and Allegheny County Children, Youth and Family Services took custody of him, according to the complaint.
Physicians said Udavcak’s claims of falls did not match his injuries, which “would have caused substantial pain at the time they occurred,” the complaint states.
On Nov. 7, a CYF caseworker told police Udavcak called her on Nov. 2 and said she had withheld information, the complaint states. According to the caseworker, Udavcak said she was carrying her son into their apartment after going to a store on Oct. 29 when she dropped him onto a cement walkway, with the boy falling on the back of his head.
She did not seek medical attention for her son after dropping him, the complaint states.
On Nov. 11, an attending physician from Children’s Hospital said the boy’s injuries “are definitive and diagnostic for physical abuse,” the complaint states.
Udavcak’s listed attorney, Christina Marie Burik, could not be reached for comment on Saturday.
After initially setting Udavcak’s bail at $2,500, Plum District Judge Michael J. Doyle changed it to a nonmonetary bond, according to court records.
Udavcak’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 27.