A Virginia couple was arrested this week after their 5-month-old son reportedly suffered severe rat bites.
The Bluefield Daily Telegraph reported that Sellina Coleman, 20, initially blamed the bites on a cat but later said they were rodent bites. The infant’s father, Michael Stevenson, 38, allegedly told police that a similar incident occurred with their 15-month-old son.
Tazewell County police got involved on Monday, after Child Protective Services was called to a Clinch Valley hospital regarding an infant with serious injuries. Sgt. M.D. Conklin wrote that the injuries were not consistent with a cat — and maggot larvae were present in the severe wounds, according to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.
Coleman reportedly told police that the first bite occurred four days before the emergency room visit. Deputies who went to the couple’s Falls Mills home to check on the older boy spotted a rat, per the news outlet.
Coleman and Stevenson are charged with child abuse and neglect with serious injury. They remain jailed without bond.
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Police said in a statement that both children have been removed from the home and are with family members.
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[Featured image: Sellina Coleman, Michael Stevenson/Southwest Virginia Regional Jail ]
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