Stewartville Father Guilty of Breaking Infant Son's Leg

Stewartville, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Stewartville man has entered a guilty plea to a felony charge for breaking his infant son’s leg.

Charges filed in Olmsted County Court last year allege that 43-year-old Jeffrey Michael Phillips physically harmed the 7-week-old baby while caring for the child in February of last year. Court records also indicate he was previously convicted of child abuse charges.

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The criminal complaint involving his infant son says the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office opened its investigation after the baby’s mother brought the child to a local medical provider for treatment. She initially told Rochester Police she had tripped over a dog and fallen down a set of stairs while holding the child. The court document says she later retracted her story, telling investigators the infant’s father had instructed her to lie.

Photo by Andy Brownell TSM Rochester

Father Admitted Using Excessive Force While Dressing Child

The charges state that Phillips admitted injuring the baby while dressing him. The complaint indicates he told investigators he used more force than he intended because he was angry about the child fussing.

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Phillips was charged with third-degree assault, malicious punishment of a child, and domestic assault. Under a plea agreement, he admitted to the felony malicious punishment of a child charge in exchange for the dismissal of the two felony assault charges.

Phillips is scheduled to be sentenced in November.

Prior Convictions Linked to Abuse of Another Child

Court records show Phillips was previously convicted of felony third-degree assault and gross misdemeanor malicious punishment of a child, as well as gross misdemeanor domestic assault in Mower County. Those convictions were connected to incidents involving a different child that occurred in 2022 and 2023.

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