Houston man accused of blinding 2-year-old stepdaughter

HOUSTON, Texas – A Houston-area man has been charged with beating and subsequently blinding his 2-year-old stepdaughter last December.

Angel Martinez, 26, was jailed Thursday on an injury to a child charge, Harris County jail records show. The records don’t list an attorney for Martinez, who was booked Monday. Bond was set at $75,000.

The girl’s mother took her to a hospital Dec. 12. A criminal complaint says Martinez told investigators he threw the girl into the air and she hit her head on a chair when he was unable to catch her. However, doctors say the injuries don’t appear accidental.

The girl’s mother also faces a charge of injury to a child by omission.

A spokesman for the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston on Thursday could not provide updated information on the girl's condition.