Crime and Courts

Three Forks man accused of breaking baby's arm appears in court

Posted: Oct 9, 2012 1:59 PM by Erin Schattauer
Updated: Oct 9, 2012 2:35 PM

BOZEMAN - A Three Forks man accused of breaking his four-week-old son's arm and hitting him in the abdomen appeared in Gallatin County Justice Court today.

Bryce Alan Duval, 19, is being held in the Gallatin County Detention Center on a $10,000 bond. If he is able to post bail, he is to have no contact with his son.

Duval appeared via video from the detention center Tuesday morning. He is charged with assault on a minor, a felony.

Duval took his four-week-old son to Bozeman Deaconess Hospital Monday, Oct. 8 and told the doctor he had struck his child in the abdomen, according to court papers. Doctors found the baby had a large bruise on his abdomen and his upper left arm was broken.

Bozeman police officers came to the hospital and detectives interviewed Duval who said he was at this home in Three Forks and the baby wouldn't stop crying. Duval said he hit the child with an open hand, causing pain and bruising, court papers state.

Duval said the baby continued to cry, so he grabbed his left arm to turn him onto his stomach so he could rub his back, but admitted he did it aggressively and then noticed the baby's left arm "was just hanging there as if it was broken," court papers state.