Alpena area man charged with child abuse claimed TV fell on kids, state police say
Aug. 7—A 25-year-old northern Michigan man has been charged with child abuse after claiming a TV fell on his kids this month, state police announced Friday.
Troopers interviewed the children's mother and grandmother on July 21 in Alpena Township after both reported finding bruises on the children, MSP said in a statement.
The children had spent the day with their father, Brenden William-Robert Smith. When the mother and grandmother confronted him about the pair's condition, "he became angry and stated a television had fallen on the children and caused the injuries," according to the release.
The women asked Smith to leave, and both children were treated at MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena.
Investigators later interviewed Smith, who again insisted a TV set had fallen and denied hurting the children, state police said. A report was submitted to the Alpena County Prosecutor's Office, which authorized an arrest warrant.
Smith was arrested Monday and held in the county jail. He was arraigned Thursday in Alpena's 88th District Court on two counts of first-degree child abuse and one count of first-degree child abuse committed in the presence of another child, state police said.
Bond was set at $100,000. Smith's next court appearance is scheduled for 2 p.m. Aug. 18.
