St. Pete Man Arrested, Charged with Child Abuse

A St. Petersburg man is in jail for allegedly hitting a 4-year-old boy, which resulted in the child having a lacerated kidney. 

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, the child's mother left the child in the care 23-year-old David Patrick Conway while she was at work.

When she returned the child told his mother that he had urinated blood. The child had flushed the toilet and the mother was unable to confirm what had happened. When the child urinated later on, he showed his mother that there was blood in the urine again, according to a news release. The mother snapped a photograph of the urine in the toilet and immediately transported the child for medical attention.

According to authorities, doctors determined that the child had a laceration to his kidney and said it not to be a medical condition, but trauma related.

Through their investigation, detectives were further able to determine that the injury was caused during the time that the victim was in Conway's care. The child told deputies that the suspect had caused his injury by striking him.

Detectives developed probable cause for the arrest of Conway. On Thursday, Nov. 15, detectives conducted surveillance on Conway and conducted a traffic stop at the intersection of Blindpass and Captiva Circle in St. Pete Beach and arrested the suspect without further incident.

Conway was transported to the Pinellas County Jail, where he is being held on no bond.

According to jail records, Conway has one previous arrest for possession of marijuana.