CLERMONT --
A Lake County couple is behind bars, accused of abusing a 6-week-old baby.
Police said Vincent Ascolese and his fiancé Eliana Cruz abused a baby girl, just weeks after she was born.
Very serious,” said Sgt. Brent Joyner from the Clermont Police Department. “It's a 41-day-old baby. Beautiful little girl.”
Ascolese’s brother Nicholas told News 13 the couple would never hurt their kids.
He blamed the baby's broken arm on a freak accident.
“My little nephew fell on her,” Nicholas Ascolese said. “He's 18 months old or 20 months old. Fell on her, then broken her arm. It's a tragic accident. They couldn't do nothing about that.”
The couple said it happened when they were leaving their house.
When they realized the baby was seriously hurt, they took her to the hospital.
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“The doctor felt those injuries couldn't have been sustained the way they said it was,” Joyner said.
When News 13 read through the arrest report, we also found the doctor who examined the little girl at the hospital found several fractures to her legs at different stages of healing.
“It's not child abuse,” Ascolese said. “The doctor could've did it when she was born. Who knows? He could've pulled her feet out wrong or whatever.”
“There's no doubt at all,” Joyner said. “There is no way a baby this small could suffer this many injuries in her short life so far.”
Ascolese said the couple would never inappropriately touch the kids.
“This is like tearing my family apart. It's hurting us,” Ascolese said.
Police said it's the baby they're worried about.
“It's sad that, in her short life, she has suffered these types of injuries,” Joyner said. “But, now that we're involved, DCF is involved, hopefully we can protect her and keep her healthy from this point on.”
Investigators removed all of the couple's children from their Clermont home and were told they're now staying with other family members.
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