Lab Tech Charged With Biting Toddler During Blood Test

INDIANAPOLIS – A former lab technician accused of biting a 3-year-old boy's shoulder to restrain him during a blood test was charged Tuesday with battery.

Police said Anne McGlorthon, 53, told them she bit the boy because he bit her.

"A 3-year-old can't have the requisite intent to harm you. Therefore, you can't defend yourself in that way," Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said.

The Associated Press left a phone message seeking comment Tuesday night at an Indianapolis number listed under McGlorthon's name.

The boy's mother, Faith Buntin, said she took her son, Victor, to St. Vincent Hospital on Sept. 21 because of recent recalls of toys involving lead. She said the worker later identified as McGlorthon put her mouth on Victor's shoulder while restraining him so another lab worker could draw the blood.

After they returned home, Buntin said she saw teeth marks on his left shoulder. Her husband then drove the child back to the hospital, where he was prescribed antibiotics.

The prosecutor said he would ask the court to require McGlorthon to provide a blood sample so tests can be done to determine if she might have transmitted any disease to the child.

"For someone to do something as nasty as put their mouth on a baby and bite a baby and break the skin and transfer bodily fluid into this child ... that's a big concern for us. We don't want our baby to die," James Buntin said.

A St. Vincent spokesman said McGlorthon was fired last week. She worked for a subcontractor for St. Vincent.

McGlorthon could face six months to three years in prison if convicted.