Man Broke Infant’s Leg In Norwich: Police

NORWICH, CT — A man is accused of breaking the leg of his girlfriend’s three-month-old baby girl in November.

Stephen Franco, 34, of Brooklyn, Conn. is due to be arraigned in Superior Court in Norwich on April 24. Police charged him on April 14 with first-degree assault and risk of injury to a minor.

Police were notified of the child’s injury on Nov. 29, 2024 via a referral from the state Department of Children and Families.

Police went to Yale New Haven Hospital, where the child was receiving care, and interviewed Franco and family members.

Franco described himself as the boyfriend of the child’s mother, and he is not biologically related to the child, a police report shows.

The child’s mother reported to police that on the afternoon of Nov. 27, she had walked into the kitchen of her Norwich apartment to find Franco holding the child upside down by her legs. The mother said Franco indicated he was doing so to help relieve the child of gas, a police report shows.

The mother reported witnessing Franco flip the child back upright by her legs without supporting her body or head, the police report shows.

The mother told police the child seemed more fussy than usual after this incident, and the baby was hard to console on Thanksgiving, Nov. 28. The baby stayed at a friend’s house Thanksgiving night.

This babysitter told investigators the baby was crying upon arrival and later woke up in the middle of the night screaming. The babysitter described being unable to console the child. Remembering Franco had mentioned he was concerned about the child’s leg, the babysitter checked and realized something was wrong with her leg. The babysitter began reaching out overnight and finally got in touch with the child’s mother and Franco the next morning, when the child was brought for medical care.

According to police, Franco told them he had seen the child’s mother hold the baby upside down by the legs to alleviate gas. However, he denied ever doing so himself.

Police said they reviewed text messages between Franco, the child’s mother and the babysitter. Police said Franco admits holding the victim upside down to alleviate gas in the text conversations.

When confronted about the text messages during the investigation, Franco responded, "If I did (hold the baby upside down) I don't remember, I'm not going to say I didn't. It's been so long I very well could have. It could have been after I seen the victim's mother do it so I thought it was okay, if I did do it. It is very possible that I could have done it," a police report shows.

On Dec. 17, police spoke with the Yale Detection, Assessment, Referral and Treatment (DART) team, which determined the victim’s injuries were “consistent with child abuse,” a police report shows.