ST. GEORGE — A man is in jail facing child abuse charges following an investigation into multiple injuries allegedly inflicted upon three children, including a 3-year-old.
The case was filed following an investigation that was opened in May when detectives in St. George received a “Child Abuse and Neglect Report” from the Division of Children and Family Services alleging that three children, all girls between the ages of 3 and 9, were being physically abused by a family member.
According to the DCFS report, at the time of the incidents, the children were in the care of 21-year-old Ian Price – youngsters the suspect was “frequently responsible for,” according to charging documents filed in 5th District Court.
On May 24, detectives reviewed the videos captured of the interviews conducted with two of the children, ages 5 and 9, which is when investigators learned Price reportedly spanked all three children and “squeezed their bellies hard, the report states, and detectives also learned that Price would stick his finger down their throats as a form of punishment – incidents that detectives say occurred on multiple occasions.
The 5-year-old told authorities that Price was “hurting” her, and also said he was hurting her sisters, as the child described an incident in which Price had reportedly pulled her off the top mattress of the bunk bed, which caused an injury to her arm.
Detectives noted bruising that had formed across the area of her arm where the child indicated she was grabbed by Price.
The child’s account was supported by a medical exam conducted approximately three weeks after the incident, as well as the corresponding X-rays taken of that same arm revealing a fracture that was in the process of healing.
The older child told investigators that she had witnessed the incident on the bunkbed and provided a similar account of what had taken place that day.
Authorities also discovered that the 3-year-old had bruising throughout her body and “sores on the inside of her mouth,” the report states.
The injuries to the inside of the child’s mouth presumably resulted from Price putting his finger down the child’s throat to stop the toddler from crying, and according to information obtained during the older sibling’s interview, officers learned that while Price used this form of punishment on all three children – he “mostly did it to the 3-year-old,” the officer noted.
The older child went explain to officers that Price would insert his finger into their mouths until it touched “the dangly thing” towards the back of their throats, which caused them to choke.
During an interview, Price reportedly admitted to spanking the girls, but authorities say he denied ever putting his finger in their mouths, nor did he ever squeeze their stomachs.
Price provided a similar account of pulling the 5-year-old off the bunkbed. However, he told officers he was unsure if he had caused the injury to the arm, but authorities said that Price also said “it was a possibility that he had.”
On Friday, the suspect was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and he was booked into jail shortly before 10 a.m. Six hours later he was released from custody after posting a bond.
Following the investigation, detectives submitted three third-degree felony counts of child abuse -reckless to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review, being that there was a combination of two or more physical injuries that were “recklessly inflicted” upon each of the three children. The charges were filed on Tuesday.
Price is scheduled to make an initial appearance in 5th District Court in St. George on Sept. 16.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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