Accused child abuser Steven Waterman, 19, remains in Cumberland County jail, though no longer on suicide watch, while Camren Baker, the baby taken to Maine Medical Center on May 17 with injuries allegedly by the hand of Waterman, is doing fine, according to Baker’s mother Jaime Swan, 20.

Waterman was arrested May 17 after Swan brought Baker to the hospital, where doctors notified police of suspected child abuse. Swan had left her infant in Waterman’s care while she attended classes. She returned home to find Baker severely injured.

Baker, who turned six months old on Tuesday, must go through physical therapy to regain some strength lost after receiving 25 fractures, but Swan said he is a happy baby and doctors have told her the only possible long-term effects of his injuries are blind spots due to hemorrhaging behind the eyes. Swan said they will have to wait until Baker is older to discover if he will have permanent blind spots, but for now he is responsive to all visual stimulation.

Dr. Larry Ricci, Director of the Spurwink Child Abuse Program and an expert in child abuse matters, said that less than a third of abused infants escape without permanent damage, one common problem being learning deficiencies stemming from head trauma.

“Nobody emerges unscathed from this” type of situation, Ricci said.

Ricci was involved in reviewing the Baker case, but could not comment on specifics due to confidentiality. Swan said doctors have not been worried about learning disabilities in Baker.

Baker has been put in temporary custody of Swan’s sister, Aimee Doane, who lives in Gorham with her husband and three boys. Swan has no restrictions on her involvement with her children. Swan and Doane said the arrangement has been made for the safety of both Swan and Baker in part due to complications with the baby’s supposed biological father, Shawn Baker, and his mother Pam Baker.

Shawn Baker said he suspects Swan of child abuse and substance abuse, while Swan, Swan’s younger brother Bobby Swan, and Doane all say the same about Baker. The Department of Health and Human Services is still working with the families, Swan said, and is providing a paternity test later this month.

Westbrook Detective John Desjardins said there is no evidence that any of Camren Baker’s injuries, old or new, involve anyone but the accused Waterman.

Some of the injuries discovered on Baker when he was taken to the hospital were “days to weeks old,” according to a police report, including two fractures, according to Swan.

Swan said she has known Waterman for six years and trusted him, though she had only left Camren Baker under his care once before and Bobby Swan was there that first time.

Jaime Swan said Baker and Waterman were great together, and Doane said Baker would light up whenever Waterman walked into the room.

“I just got a camera developed the other day, and half of it is of Camren and Steve smiling and laughing,” said Swan.

Both Doane and Swan said Waterman needs to take responsibility for what he did, and though Swan didn’t express any trust left in Waterman, she didn’t speak angrily about him. She said she has not communicated with him since he was arrested, though she said someone wrote him a letter pretending to be her.

Swan said she is now left with a distrust of anyone.

“People I have known so long are the ones who have hurt him,” Swan said.

“Think twice before you leave your kids with anybody,” Doane said.

Waterman is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of assault on a minor. Aggravated assault is a class B felony with a maximum sentence of 10 years. Assault on a minor is a class C felony with a maximum sentence of 5 years. Swan said a detective told her he could expect one to four years imprisonment if he is convicted. Police records show Waterman admitted to investigators that he did cause Camren Baker physical injury when Baker was crying.

Dr. Ricci said that for every child abuse case that gets reported in the media, he sees a dozen at Maine Medical Center that no one hears of. He said often it is impossible for police to identify the perpetrator of the abuse, which prevents any arrests, and medical confidentiality prevents the disclosure of the cases in the hospital and Department of Health and Human Services, leaving no names to be made public.

Swan has a three-year-old daughter, Emma Fogg, who is currently staying with her father, Chris Fogg. Doane said Fogg takes Emma over to her home often so she can play with her little brother and her cousins.

Swan said she is also about 12 weeks pregnant with what will be Waterman’s second child. Swan did not express joy over the situation, but said, “It’s something I have to deal with.”

Waterman’s next court date is scheduled for July 30.

Aimee Doane’s oldest son, Kenny Plummer, 10 wrote the following poem on May 21, the night before his cousin Camren Baker was released from the hospital.

Camren oh Camren. How are you? Doing fine I hope. I can’t wait to see you and your smile which is as bright as the sun on a hot summer day. You are as tough as a rock from what I hear. I love you. I love you. Camren I do. You are my cousin and I’m a good cousin to you.

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