Police: Tarentum couple accused of child abuse after 5-month-old found to have broken bones

A Tarentum couple has been accused of child abuse after a doctor treating their 5-month-old son for a shoulder injury told police the boy suffered 10 previous fractures for which he did not receive medical treatment.

Ryan Scholl, 22, and Breanna Airgood, 26, of the 400 block of West Ninth Avenue were each charged by Allegheny County Police with a felony count of endangering the welfare of children.

They were released from custody on a non-monetary bond and face a preliminary hearing before District Judge Carolyn Bengel on Wednesday, April 20, according to court records.

Detectives wrote in the couple’s arrest papers that they were dispatched to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Lawrenceville on March 19 after a physician who was treating the boy for a possible dislocated shoulder reported that he had previously suffered a broken arm, three cracked ribs and six fractured vertebrae.

The doctor reported that the breaks showed “signs of healing” and that the injuries “were consistent with non-accidental trauma and were indicative of abuse.”

The physician told police that the injuries the baby suffered would have required “considerable force” and that an adult would have been aware that the child was in pain, according to the criminal complaint.

Scholl told police that two days before the child was taken to the hospital, he heard a “pop” and the baby started crying when he tried hoist him to his feet after a diaper change, the complaint said.

The man told investigators he put the baby back on the changing table and he stopped crying after about 20 seconds. Scholl said the boy appeared to have difficulty moving his left arm after the incident, according to the complaint.

Airgood said that throughout the day and the following morning, the baby began crying whenever he was touched, the complaint said.

The couple took the child to a MedExpress on March 18, but the medical staff referred them to Children’s Hospital for treatment after they “could not adequately explain” how the child received his previous injuries, the complaint said.