GREENSBURG, Pa. -- An 18-year-old Greensburg man has been charged with raping a baby who police said was left in his care.

Police said Scott Wade Smith raped his girlfriend's 5-month-old girl Friday morning at a home in the 500 block of Highland Avenue, where several people, including the infant's mother, were living.

Authorities said the infant suffered severe injuries and was flown to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, where surgery was performed.

Police said the girl was crying so hard she nearly stopped breathing.

According to police, Smith made a story about the baby choking on a crayon, but paramedics didn't find anything in her throat. So, they decided to take her to Westmoreland Hospital, which is where doctors found blood inside her diaper.

"Doctors immediately notified Greensburg police, who headed to the house with a search warrant," said Capt. George Seranko of the Greensburg Police Department.

There, police said they found a blood-soaked towel in a box in Smith's bedroom, along with four red-stained baby wipes.

The mother was in class at her high school when the alleged attack occurred, police said.

Smith was charged with five felonies, including rape of a child, causing seriously bodily injury, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and endangering the welfare of children. He is being held at the Westmoreland County Prison on $1 million bail.

Police said rape of a child with serious bodily injury under the age of 13 is punishable by life in prison, and they are asking the district attorney to push for that sentence.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday. It's unknown whether Smith has a lawyer yet.

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