Man Pleads Not Guilty in the Injury of 5 Month Old Girl

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A 31-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to a charge alleging he caused his girlfriend's 5-month-old daughter to suffer a skull fracture and brain injury that left her with cognitive and behavioral disabilities and post-traumatic epilepsy.

The Billings Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1Ae8SUo ) Dustin John Lundvall pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony child abuse. District Judge Rod Souza set Lundvall's bond at $75,000.

Police were called to St. Vincent Healthcare on Aug. 2 for a case of possible child abuse. Nurses reported the baby was bruised and the back of her skull was "mushy."

Court records say Lundvall told officers the baby had fallen off an ottoman and hit her head on a car seat and the floor. A doctor said Lundvall's story didn't match the girl's severe injuries.

Prosecutors say the girl spent nearly a month at Children's Hospital Colorado.