NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Police were searching Tuesday for a man they say bit off the lip and ear of his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter in attacks that left her so mutilated doctors could not fully repair the damage.
Warrants were issued for Bryan James, 34, and the child's mother, Jessica Silveria, 26. Authorities believe the couple are in hiding.
"The child suffered human bites to the face in which she lost the upper part of her lip," police said in a news release. "In addition, her ear was so mutilated that surgery could not return it to its natural state. The child also suffered other human bites on her body."
James is wanted on assault and battery upon a child causing substantial bodily injuries. Silveria is accused of permitting substantial injuries to a child under 14 and intimidation of a witness.
New Bedford police began investigating in mid-May after the girl was taken to a hospital in Boston. Police believe the biting attacks began in January.
The girl and her brother, whose age police did not immediately know, have been taken into the state Department of Social Services' custody
