FARMINGTON -- A case against a 23-year-old Layton woman charged with child abuse will go forward, after a judge ruled there was sufficient evidence.
Judge Michael G. Allphin made the ruling Friday, following a preliminary hearing for Sandra Iveth Flores.
During that hearing, Allphin watched a video of a boy being interviewed by an investigator with the Division of Child and Family Services. In the video, the 4-year-old said he saw his mother, Flores, hit 3-year-old Priscilla Bowman on the head.
Flores is charged with one count of second-degree felony child abuse, inflicting serious physical injury on a child.
Another hearing is set for Feb. 13 before Judge John R. Morris.
Allpin said there seemed to be "some significant issues with the evidence," but because he is bound by law, he had to send the case forward.
Deputy Davis County Attorney Cristina Ortega said after the hearing that Priscilla is doing well and is now home.
Layton Police arrested Flores on July 27, 2011, following an investigation that began on July 5, 2011, when Flores brought the little girl to Davis Hospital and Medical Center with a head injury.
Flores told police that the toddler had fallen off the toilet and hit her head on July 5, 2011. Flores was living in the apartment with Priscilla's mother and cared for the little girl while Priscilla's mother was at work.
Priscilla's mother would care for Flores' 4-year-old son when Flores worked, officials testified in Friday's hearing.
Layton Police Detective Chad Jones testified that Flores had taken the girl to Davis Hospital and Medical Center. Flores contacted a neighbor because Priscilla was unresponsive when Flores found her face down on the bathroom floor, Jones said. The neighbor told Flores they needed to take the girl to the emergency room, he said.
The apartment complex where Flores lived was less than five minutes away from the Layton hospital.
Also testifying was Dr. Kristine A. Campbell, a pediatrician with the University of Utah Medical Center.
Campbell said the type of bleeding found around Priscilla's brain was not typical of a child who fell from a toilet seat. Children fall and get hurt, but do not receive the type of injuries this young girl had, she said.
Doctors at Primary Children's Medical Center had to remove part of the girl's skull to alleviate the swelling around the brain.
During cross examination, Campbell said the girl was "at risk of dying" due to the injuries she sustained. Doctors were not sure if Priscilla would survive the night.
Flores' attorney, Richard Uday, asked Campbell if a fall from a toilet could have caused an older injury to become worse.
"None of the injuries I saw could be attributed to the incidents I was told of," Campbell said.
Uday also asked how far a child must fall in order to be injured like the child was.
Campbell said a simple straight fall from a toilet, bed or couch does not cause a life-threatening subdural hematoma like the one Priscilla had.
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