Phoenix man accused of kicking, sexually assaulting 1-year-old girl

WARNING: Graphic Content

PHOENIX (FOX 10) -- A Phoenix man is facing a child abuse charge after a little girl died in his care and police say the traumatic injuries she suffered from were not accidental.

On April 7 at 8:10 a.m., Phoenix Police officers arrived at the scene of a residence on West Dunlap Avenue after receiving a call about an unresponsive 1-year-old girl. A short time later, Phoenix Fire Department crews at the scene pronounced the child dead at 8:15 a.m.

According to the police report, the medical examiner's office found the child had numerous bruises to her lower abdominal area, blood on her diaper and signs of possible trauma.

The suspect, identified as John Michael Aldana, lives in the residence with several other people and he is not the child's biological father.

Detectives say during interviews with the child's mother and the 22-year-old suspect, it was found that she left the apartment at 12:30 a.m. to get medication for the girl. During that time, the suspect, the victim and another child were in a bedroom. When the mother returned home, the children appeared to be sleeping.

Per the court paperwork, the suspect told police he was alone in the bedroom with the children the entire time the mother was gone, claimed he was awake the entire time and would have known if someone had come into the bedroom while he was with the children. He woke up at 8:00 a.m. to find the victim face down and unresponsive. Aldana called 911 and performed CPR while waiting for paramedics to arrive.

During an examination the following day, investigators found the girl had a subdural hematoma on her brain, abdominal trauma and trauma indicative of sexual abuse, which the forensic pathologist stated was non-accidental.

On April 9, police say during an interview, Aldana "was confronted with the results of the postmortem examination and he showed signs of deception."

Aldana denied any sexual contact with the child but admitted to kicking her after she became "fussy when mom was out of the room," according to the report. Due to the kick, the girl's head hit a closet door and he heard a loud "thud" sound.

When Aldana returned to the apartment, he inspected the area where the girl's head hit the door and found it was damaged in the area of impact.

Investigators stated, "Based on the circumstances, it was apparent the suspect's actions caused an injury to the child which resulted in the child's death."

Police say Aldana was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the alleged offense.

Aldana was charged with one count of child/vulnerable abuse. He is currently in jail on a $250,000 bond and his next court date is April 17.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include Aldana's bond and current status.