Father faces charges after punching baby in mouth
Phoenix, AZ — A Phoenix father is facing child abuse charges after punching his baby girl in the mouth as her mother held her.
It happened shortly before 2 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving.
According the arresting officer’s probable cause statement, Jesus Gastelum confronted his ex-girlfriend, who is the mother of his child, at her home and punched her in the face. He also allegedly grabbed her arm and pulled her hair, ripping out her extensions.
The arresting officers went on to say that Gastelum punched his 10-month-old daughter in the mouth, resulting in a small cut to her upper lip. The baby was in her mother’s arms at the time.
Police arrested Gastelum Monday morning.
Commissioner Maria Brandon set a $20,000 bond for Gastelum and scheduled a status conference for Dec. 8 and a preliminary hearing for Dec. 11.