Joshua MartinREINHOLDS, Pa. (WHTM) -
A Lancaster County man has been jailed on aggravated assault and child endangerment charges after admitting he abused his three-year-old foster child, according to charging documents.
Joshua T. Martin, 23, of Reinholds, was sent to Lancaster County Prison Thursday on $500,000 cash bail.
Arrest papers state that the girl was unresponsive when she arrived at Reading Hospital by ambulance Sunday and was suffering from a traumatic brain injury and other injuries to her body. She was later transferred to Penn State Hershey Medical Center.
Martin later told a state police trooper that he had become frustrated with the girl Friday after she threw up her dinner. He said he was rough with the child as he showered and changed her and his roughness would have left bruising on her body, documents state.
He said he also struck the girl's head on a wooden door frame while carrying her to her bedroom, and then punched her in the head with a closed fist using a good deal of force because she was uncooperative while he roughly dressed her, police said in the documents.
Martin said the girl threw up her dinner again on Sunday and somehow fell as he was helping her, according to documents. He said she fell to the ground and became unresponsive while he was roughly re-dressing her.
Martin and his wife were caring for the girl and her two siblings, ages one and two, at their home in the 300 block of Staver Road. He told police that he alone caused the girl's injuries, documents state.
