news-record.com

CHARLOTTE (MCT) -- The father of infant triplets involved in what police have deemed a child abuse case has been charged with harming at least two of the children.

Terrell Nelson, 27, was arrested Wednesday and was in Mecklenburg Jail on $70,000 bond. He is charged with two counts of child abuse inflicting serious injury.

Police were called on Friday, after one of the 3-month-old infants was taken to Presbyterian Hospital after being found unresponsive.

A search warrant acquired by police over the weekend says the injuries were consistent with felonious assault, and detectives interviewed the infants' parents and anyone who had access to the babies. They also searched the house, looking for evidence of child abuse.

One infant suffered head trauma, facial bruising and a hemorrhage around the left eye usually associated with suffocation, according to court documents. The girl's sister had similar injuries, but they were not as severe. Their brother was not injured.

The warrant says the infants' maternal great-grandmother says she saw Nelson "place tape on the children's pacifiers on more than one occasion." Police declined to comment on whether that had something to do with the suffocation injuries.

The children are at Presbyterian Hospital, and family members said one girl was in intensive care.

Nelson's Facebook page has several photos of the triplets dressed in matching outfits.

On Sunday, Nelson wrote, "My heart is heavy this morning and God you are the ultimate healer and I know that you can turn it around for my daughter...and I praise u in advance for that. Family keep us in your prayers!"

Records show Nelson has been convicted of making a false report to police, malicious use of explosives and second-degree arson.

A domestic violence protective order filed against him was dismissed in 2005, according to records.

The triplets' grandfather told Observer news partner WCNC-TV that he had visited his hospitalized granddaughter, who has a breathing tube.

"They are keeping her under so she don't pull the tubes out of her mouth because she is just a baby," said Wayne Williams.

He went to the family's home Wednesday to try to cover up the words "baby abuser," which had been spray painted on the garage door.

"It's under investigation," Williams told WCNC. "Everybody is innocent until proven guilty. If it was an accident, it was an accident. Whatever happened, he just needs to say what happened."