(COLDWATER) – A Coldwater man is behind bars on charges of child abuse.

Coldwater Director Of Public Safety Mark Bartell says officers arrested 20 year old Jeffery Ledford on April 19. The Branch County Prosecutor's Office issued an arrest warrant for Ledford on a charge of First Degree Child Abuse and two counts of Second Degree Child Abuse.

The investigation started shortly after midnight on March 26, after Ledford's five week old baby was taken to the emergency department of ProMedica Coldwater Regional Hospital with unexplained head trauma. The boy was later flown to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo and admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Bartell says he assembled a team of officers to work on this case the night they received the call. He says the information received from the parents that first night did not explain the severity of the baby's head injuries. As they continued to investigate, they found more information that led to the arrest warrants being issued.

The child was recently discharged from the hospital.

Branch County District Court officials say Ledford is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on May 7.