A Lyons man is now being held in the Wayne County jail on sex abuse charges involving a nine-month-old baby girl. The district attorney said it's the worst case he's seen in his career and the victim's mother wants the man behind bars for the rest of his life.

“I wanted to cry, I wanted to strangle him. I felt really bad. I started blaming myself for it all,” the victim’s mother said.

The victim's mother said on November 30th she left her daughter with 24-year-old Richard Dallas while she ran errands. When she came home her baby was unresponsive.

“I noticed she was white as a ghost, she wasn't acting right. If she seen me walk in the door she normally gets playful and stuff. She just looked at me and went right back to sleep. She couldn't breathe, she was grunting, couldn’t pry her mouth open. So right then and there I knew something was wrong and I called the EMTS.”

Lyons police said a report was made to child protective services after doctors said she suffered severe internal injuries as the result of a sexual assault.

"She had had terrible injuries, internal injuries, to her rectum, to her colon. They did surgery and she remains in the hospital. Without medical care it’s likely she would have died, she was injured that severely,” Richard Healy, the Wayne County District Attorney said.

The baby is recovering at the hospital. Healy said she'll have to remain there over the next few weeks.

"She had a perforated colon, and that had to be repaired. She now has a colostomy bag. They are hopeful they can repair the colon in her next surgery in the next several months,” Healy said.

Healy said the case has taken an emotional toll on everyone who's been involved from his staff, to police and hospital personnel.

"I’ve been a prosecutor for 30 years I’ve never seen a sex crime victim this young and I’ve never seen such a severe injury to a sex crime victim as this,” Healy said.

Dallas has been indicted on eight counts including predatory sexual assault against a child, a class a felony which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years to life in prison. Dallas is due back in court on January 11th.

“It’s good that they are talking about it because the child is so young. But does it matter if the child was nine? Nine years old instead of nine months,” Anna Potter with Bivona Child Advocacy Center said.

Potter said the center has dealt with victims even younger this one. Potter said 43 percent of all abused children are under the age of 7.

"This is reality of what goes on in our community, whether it be in Rochester, Monroe County or outlying counties. This is a reality of what goes on all the time everyday single day,” Potter said.

Potter said a majority of people don’t want to believe that child abuse happens with someone they may know. She said if you have a gut feeling that something isn't right call the Bivona Child Advocacy Center and they'll work with you to figure out how to handle the situation. That number is 935-7800.