THELMA, Ky. — A Johnson County man was arrested on a child abuse charge Monday, after a woman reported finding him squeezing a 5-month-old child.

The child’s mother told a deputy who responded to the complaint that 20-year-old Alexander Jude was squeezing the child so hard that it was turning blue. The deputy also reported that the child had bruising around his neck and chest.

Jude allegedly told the officer the baby had been screaming, and he was trying to get him to calm down and go back to sleep.

The child was taken to the hospital for treatment.

Jude was arrested and charged with third-degree child abuse, which is a misdemeanor.