EASTON, Md. - The Talbot County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrest of an Easton man on multiple charges including child abuse following an investigation that began in August of 2025.
According to investigators, Joseph H. Bridge Jr., 25 at the time, had custody of his child from the morning of Aug. 3 to the morning of Aug. 5, 2025. On Aug. 5, Bridge Jr. met with the child’s mother for a scheduled appointment at a pediatrician’s office. Police say the mother immediately saw concerning injuries on the child that hadn’t been there during a custody exchange just days earlier.
The doctor at the pediatrician’s office noted the injuries were suspicious and referred the mother to the University of Maryland Shore Emergency Center in Queenstown for further evaluation, according to authorities. The child was then taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore due to the serious nature of the injuries, according to the sheriff’s office. Those injuries were reportedly later determined to be “suspected non-accidental trauma.”
In the following months, the Talbot County Sheriff’s Office says deputies then conducted numerous interviews, reviewed electronic data, and ultimately identified Bridge Jr. as the person allegedly responsible for the child’s injuries.
Bridge Jr. was arrested in Delaware on May 8, police say, and extradited back to Maryland on May 15. He is currently being held without bond and faces the following charges:
-First Degree Child Abuse
-Second Degree Child Abuse
-First Degree Assault
-Second Degree Assault
-Reckless Endangerment
-Child Neglect
-Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance-Not Cannabis
-Theft Under $100.
