Elkhorn man charged with breaking baby's bones

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ELKHORN—An Elkhorn man is accused of breaking the leg and wrist of a 20-month-old boy in two separate incidents, according to a criminal complaint filed in Walworth County Court on Feb. 10.

Tafeon D. Hickembottom, 21, faces two charges of physical abuse of a child intentionally causing bodily harm for an incident Feb. 7 and another sometime last fall, according to the complaint.

Police were dispatched to the Lakeland Medical Center, Elkhorn, for a report of a child with a left spiral femur fracture, according to the complaint. Police interviewed a woman who said Hickembottom went into the boy's bedroom and after a few minutes, she heard the boy scream.

After reviewing records from the Lakeland facility and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, the boy also had an arm fracture diagnosed in October, according to the complaint. The October records gave no clear explanation for the injury.

Police spoke with Hickembottom at the Milwaukee House of Corrections, Franklin, where he admitted he was frustrated with the boy and was rough with him, according to the complaint. He said he spun the boy around by his leg and that was when the boy started to cry and would not put weight on the leg.

After a detective asked about the boy's broken wrist bone, Hickembottom said swinging the boy around in a circle “might have” broken the boy's arm, according to the complaint.

The woman told police Hickembottom had anger issues and shoved her during an argument a few months ago, according to the complaint.

An arrest warrant was issued for Hickembottom on Feb. 10, according to court records.

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