This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Kearns resident Antoneus Deslegte, 24, was charged with five second-degree felonies for child abuse Friday. Deslegte is accused of severely beating his 7-month-old twins, a boy and a girl.
The daughter was admitted to Primary Children's Medical Center on June 19 for a large cut and bruise near her eye, police records stated. After arriving in the emergency room, she underwent X-rays that revealed a fractured bone in her leg.
Doctors asked that the girl's twin brother be examined, police reports stated, and noticed his leg was also fractured and he had an older, healing skull fracture.
According to police records, Deslegte said his daughter had fallen backward on the swing, causing the cut and bruise. He also remembered picking her up almost a month before and hearing a pop come from her leg.
Police reports had multiple accounts from the mother and other family members stating that Deslegte was "rough" with the children, including shoving pacifiers into their mouths and picking them up by one arm.
According to court documents, a pediatrician and specialist said the cut and the bruise were from two separate blows, "likely caused by blunt force trauma."
The specialist concluded that Deslegte's explanations did not match the twins' injuries, court documents said.
@ginabarker