Easton Man Indicted for Assaulting his 14-Month-Old Baby
TALBOT COUNTY, Md. – The Talbot County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) has arrested an Easton man on charges stemming from an Aug. 2025 investigation involving physical abuse of his fourteen-month-old child.
Deputies arrested 25-year-old Joseph H. Bridge, Jr. on charges of first and second degree child abuse, first and second degree assault, reckless endangerment, and child neglect. He is also charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance and theft under one hundred dollars. On May 8, Bridge was arrested in Delaware by the United States Marshal’s Service warrant apprehension team. On May 15, Bridge was brought to Maryland and held without bond at the Talbot County Central Booking Facility after waiving extradition.
According to court documents obtained by WDMT, Bridge had bond review on the morning of Monday, May 18. He has been issued a pre-trial supervision assessment by Judge Charles Carey Deeley, Jr.
On Aug. 5, 2025, TCSO Criminal Investigations Division launched an investigation involving the physical abuse of a 14-month-old child. Investigators learned Bridge, identified as the child’s biological father, had custody of the child from the morning of Aug. 3, 2025 to the morning of Aug. 5, 2025. When Bridge met the child’s mother at a Centreville pediatrician’s office on the morning of Aug. 5, 2025 for a pre-scheduled appointment, the child’s mother immediately observed concerning injuries on the child that were not present during previous custody exchange.
The child’s pediatrician noted the injuries were suspicious and referred the mother to the University of Maryland Shore Emergency Center at Queenstown for further evaluation. Based on the serious nature of the child’s injuries, the child was transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital reportedly determined the child’s injuries were “suspected non-accidental trauma”.
In the following months, investigators say they conducted dozens of interviews, reviewed electronic data and developed a timeline ultimately identifying Bridge as the person responsible for the child’s injuries. In April of this year, investigators provided testimony to a Talbot County Grand Jury who returned an indictment for Bridge charging him with the aforementioned criminal violations. A Talbot County Circuit Court arrest warrant was subsequently issued for Bridge.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Sgt. S. Faggert at (410) 822‐1020 or by email at sfaggert@talbotcountymd.gov.
