A Greensburg man charged with raping a 5-month-old girl said he had issues and sometimes did things he knew were wrong, an investigator testified Thursday.
During a preliminary hearing, Greensburg police Detective Jerry Vernail recounted a conversation he had with Scott Wade Smith, 19, of 536 Highland Ave., about 11:35 p.m. March 7, at Smith's request.
"'I know I have a problem," Vernail recalled Smith saying as he read from his notes. "There are things I want to do, and there are things I don't want to do, but I do anyway.'"
Smith was held for trial on charges of rape, aggravated assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and endangering the welfare of a child by Greensburg District Judge James Albert.
Police allege that Smith raped the child of his girlfriend the morning of March 7 at a Greensburg home. The attack was so severe that the child needed surgery, police said.
Also at the hearing were the child's father, mother and Smith's mother.
The Tribune-Review doesn't identify alleged victims of sexual assault.
Vernail testified that during the conversation, Smith said he could sometimes see things happen in the future and that he had mental health issues.
At the time, Vernail said he was telling Smith that his account about what happened to the baby didn't make sense and didn't agree with what others living in the home were saying.
At one point, Smith "responded to me by saying, 'I (expletive) up,'" Vernail said.
But he never directly confessed to the crimes, police said.
In a box behind the laundry room door at the home, Vernail said he found bloody baby wipes and a soiled and bloody condom. They were in a cardboard box that contained school excuse forms belonging to Smith, Vernail said.
Several people lived in the home. Police took DNA samples from them March 7. No testimony was offered yesterday about those samples.
A doctor from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh testified that the baby's injuries were consistent with a sexual assault.
Dr. Monique Higginbotham, who testified via speaker phone, said she believed the assault would have occurred within three hours of the baby's examination by physicians.
"This type of injury would have caused her extreme pain," the doctor said.
She said there was no sign that the baby may have been choking on part of a crayon -- something police said Smith claimed when paramedics arrived.
Higginbotham said she was surprised to hear that Gregory Stull, a Mutual Aid paramedic, described the baby as pleasant and playful when he arrived at the home on the morning of the alleged assault.
"I think that's unusual," Higginbotham said. "I can't say it's impossible, but it's unusual."
At the home, Stull said Smith seemed "devoid of excitement or emotion."
In seeking to have charges dismissed, Westmoreland County Assistant Public Defender John Sweeney said the prosecution failed to show a direct link between the injuries suffered by the baby and his client.
In response, Westmoreland County Assistant District Attorney Judy Petrush pointed to the baby wipes and other material found in the cardboard box. She noted that when paramedics arrived only Smith and his mother were in the home.
The child's mother said after the hearing that the baby, who is now 8 months old, is in her care and they are living with her parents.
"She's doing fine," the mother said of the infant.
She said she has quit high school, partly because of people talking about the incident, and hopes one day to get her general equivalency diploma.
The mother said she wants to believe that Smith loved her and couldn't harm her baby.
"Whoever did it needs to go to jail," she said.
Smith remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bond.
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