Norwich — A Taftville man was arrested on assault and other charges following an investigation into injuries sustained by a 3-year-old boy being cared for by the man and his girlfriend in September.

Police charged Edward T. Quinones Jr., 27, of 30 Terrace Ave. on March 9 with risk of injury to a minor, second-degree assault and cruelty to persons. He was released on a court-set $50,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Norwich Superior Court on March 21.

Police said they were notified by the state Department of Children and Families in the early morning of Sept. 17 regarding possible physical abuse of a 3-year-old child. A Pequot Medical Center emergency room physician had contacted the DCF CareLine at 11:33 p.m. Sept. 16 and reported the male child had been brought to their facility by his mother for the treatment of multiple bruises and other injuries at varying stages of healing about his body.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, the child allegedly had multiple bruises on his face and under his chin, his right eye was swollen shut and he had swelling on the left side of his face and bruises on his chest, mid-back over his spine, bruises and red marks on his inner left thigh and bruises on his penis.

The victim subsequently was transferred to Yale-New Haven Hospital for further treatment and consultation with the hospital’s child abuse Detection, Admission, Reporting and Treatment Team, known as DART. The warrant stated the doctors concluded the injuries were "consistent with non-accidental trauma and consistent with abuse."

Norwich police Detective Ryan Kelsey worked with DCF and DART on the investigation and learned that the victim had been staying with and cared for by Quinones and his girlfriend, Jaime Carr, 29, also of 30 Terrace Ave. The victim’s mother had paid Quinones and Carr to care for the victim while she was working from Friday evening Sept. 14 to Sunday evening Sept. 16, 2018. During this weekend period, police said in a news release, the victim allegedly “sustained serious injuries to his head, face, arms, torso, genitals and legs.”

The victim's mother told police the boy did not have bruises when she dropped him off Friday night, Sept. 14, the warrant stated.

After conducting multiple interviews, searches of electronic evidence, as well as medical records reviews and consultations, Kelsey authored an arrest warrant for Quinones, which recently was approved and issued.

Quinones initially told police he thought the bruises occurred when his dog was racing around the living room on that Sunday and ran over the boy's face, scratching him. He said the bruises worsened as the day went on, and he texted photos to Carr while she was at work. The victim's mother left work Sunday evening to pick up the boy and take him to the emergency room in Groton.

Quinones later told police the boy was upset and crying Saturday evening when he took the boy and Quinones' daughter to a restaurant for dinner. He said he had to get take-out because the boy was crying, and then had "dragged" the boy to the car. Quinones told police the boy might have hit his head on the door and fallen into the car, hurting his chest.

Police said no further arrests are expected in the case and the victim’s name and mother’s name will not be released.

Carr, not charged in this case, pleaded guilty in 2011 to one count of first-degree reckless endangerment and was sentenced to one year in prison and three years of probation in connection with an assault by Jeffrey Mears on Mears' and Carr's then 4-month-old daughter. Mears pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree assault with extreme indifference to life and was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of probation.

c.bessette@theday.com