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    Father of twins with broken bones faces child abuse charges

    All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

    (Riverton, WY) – 27-year-old Anthony Long faces two counts of child abuse after his 24-day-old twin daughters showed up at the hospital with broken bones and other injuries.

    Child abuse is a felony with a maximum penalty of not more than ten years imprisonment.

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    On November 21, 2022, a Riverton Police Department Officer was dispatched to the hospital for possible child abuse, according to the affidavit filed in Riverton Circuit Court last week.

    The mother took one of the twins to the emergency room after discovering her leg was “limp and swollen,” the affidavit states. Scans and x-rays revealed a broken leg, bruising and other injuries. This prompted a request for the twin to be brought in for an evaluation as well.

    Long, the twins’ father, procrastinated when asked to bring the second twin in for an evaluation, the affidavit continues. Eventually, the maternal grandmother brought her in, and through tests and observations, it was discovered she also had “broken bones, bruising and other injuries.”

    During the interview with the mother, it was shared that “when Long has the children by himself, they tended to have some form of injury when she saw them next.”

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    One of the infants had a black eye, which Long explained to the mother came from being “head butted” by the infant while he was attempting to burp her. This reportedly broke a blood vessel in the baby’s eye as well. A bruise on the other twin’s face allegedly came from an incident involving their cat jumping on the couch, which caused the boppy to hit the baby’s face.

    The mother explained “that Long is a first time dad and does not know how to be gentle with infants,” the affidavit reads. And that “she constantly has to remind him to be gentle with the infants.” She continued to say that she has seen him become “overwhelmed and frustrated while he cares for (the) infants but does not believe Long would intentionally hurt the children.”

    Long denied having anything to do with the injuries during his interview with the Officer. He also stated he does not believe their mom is responsible for their injuries. When asked what he thought caused them, he said that he and the mom “may have swaddle(d) the babies too tight or they sustained injuries when they lifted the babies’ legs up to clean their bottoms.”

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    “Long admitted that it is a possibility that (the) infants were injured while they are being taken care of but he stated it did not happen out of frustration, impatience, violence or intentional physical harm.”

    County 10 will provide updates as this case proceeds.

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