5-month-old girl hospitalized with multiple broken bones: NJ woman arrested

LODI — A 23-year-old Bergen County woman was charged with aggravated assault and child endangerment in connection with an incident that left a 5-month-old girl with multiple fractures of her extremities.

Dalia E. Toalongo, of Lodi, was arrested after the Division of Child Protection and Permanency was called to respond to Holy Name Medical center after the baby was admitted Sunday with multiple fractures, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal said Tuesday. Child services then notified the prosecutor's office of the incident.

According to Grewal, the Special Victims Unit and Lodi Police Department launched an investigation leading to Toalongo's arrest.

Authorities would not disclose the relationship between the baby and Toalongo, a who works as a hair stylist.

Toalongo was charged with one count of aggravated assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. She was transported to Bergen County Jail on $150,000 bail with no 10 percent option. In addition, Toalongo must surrender her passport and is prohibited from having any contact with the child as conditions of bail.

She is scheduled to make her first court appearance Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Bergen County.

Toalongo's arrest is one of several that have taken place in recent months in connection with charges of child abuse and endangerment.

On March 31, John Bang, 40, of Passaic, was arrested on one count of second-degree aggravated assault as well as one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child stemming from an incident in which Bangs allegedly committed “an act of physical assault on a 3 month-old child,” authorities said.

In June Edwin M. Zhinin-Zhinin, 31, and Eli M. Mancia-Herrera, 39, of Hackensack, were charged with sexual assault by contact and endangering the welfare of a child, authorities said. Zhinin-Zhinin also faced an aggravated sexual assault charge, Grewal said following their arrests. The charges came after a student at a local school reported that she had been sexually abused by the two men, police said.

In July, Jamal Balkman, a 36-year-old Camden County track coach was arrested in connection with charges of child endangerment and criminal sexual contact, authorities said.

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.

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