Man charged with child abuse after reporting 1-year-old girl taken from home

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. (WBTV) - A Rowan County man was charged with child abuse after deputies say they found a 1-year-old girl in a potentially dangerous situation in her father’s home.

On Thursday, deputies were called to go to the 100 block of Doby Lane in Gold Hill. Nathaniel Medley, 34, had called to report that another man had taken one of his children.

Deputies were able to find the man who took the child, and determined that it was the girl’s grandfather.

According to the report, the grandfather had picked up an older child from school and was taking that child to Medley’s home. When he arrived, he said he found Medley passed out on the bed. The 1-year-old girl was also on the bed, but awake.

The grandfather told deputies that the bed was “high off the ground,” and that the child was in danger of falling off. The grandfather also said that the child’s diaper was “full,” and it was apparent that the diaper had not been changed in some time.

The grandfather said that he prepared a bottle for the child, and that the little girl drank it as if she had not been fed in a while.

While he was caring for the girl, the grandfather said that Medley came out of the bedroom and was yelling at another man who was passed out on a couch in the house.

The grandfather then took the two children and left the house. Medley screamed that if the grandfather took the kids, that he would “call the cops.”

While driving, the grandfather spotted two Rockwell Police officers. He stopped to tell them what was happening, and met with the Rowan County deputies there.

The deputies then went to the house on Doby Lane. They said that when they arrived, they saw three men, including Medley, on the front porch. Medley “staggered” down the stairs to talk with them. His speech was slurred, according to the report, and his eyes were described as “red and glassy.”

As the deputies attempted to lead Medley to the patrol car, he “kept falling down.” On the drive to the magistrate’s office the deputy said he had to roll down the back window due to the overwhelming smell of alcohol. Once at the magistrate’s office, Medley fell asleep while being charged on one count of child abuse.

According to the report, DSS had already investigated the Medley home and had an “open file” on the case with a safety plan that had already been put in place.

Medley was released on a bond of $1,000.