WILTON -- A Wilton man who allegedly assaulted his girlfriend's seven-month-old baby last week was ordered held in the Franklin County Detention Center on $10,000 cash bail following his initial court appearance Monday.

Matthew S. Soha, 21, of Depot Street, Wilton, also known as Matthew Soha-Girardin, is charged with aggravated assault on a child younger than 6.

The charge would normally be a Class C felony, but due to the severity of the injuries, was upgraded, according to Franklin County Assistant District Attorney James Andrews.

The maximum sentence for the crime Soha is charged with is 10 years in prison.

Soha was not required to enter a plea Monday in Farmington District Court. The case is expected to be referred to the next Franklin County grand jury.

According to police, at about 8 p.m. Aug. 20, a baby boy with severe bruising to his head and body was brought in to the emergency room at Franklin Memorial Hospital by his mother. The physician treating the child was concerned about the nature of the injuries and, following protocol, reported it to police.

"The doctor on duty had feared the child may have been abused. It was reported that the injuries occurred during a fall, but the injuries were not consistent with the account provided by the mother," Wilton Police Chief Dennis Brown said Monday.

The mother is Soha's girlfriend and they were living together in an apartment house on Depot Street.

Brown said the mother had left the infant in Soha's care.

Andrews on Monday said the baby was kept overnight at the hospital for observation and released to his mother the next day.

Police spent two days looking for Soha and he agreed to turn himself in to police Friday night. Brown said the investigation is continuing.

Soha's criminal record includes a misdemeanor assault conviction in Somerset County from last October. He was on probation for that crime when he was arrested Friday for the alleged attack on the infant, which violated his conditions of release, Andrews said. Soha also has an assault conviction from Franklin County in 2005 as well as convictions for trafficking and furnishing marijuana, Andrews said.

Andrews said he expects Soha will be held without bail because of the probation violation issue.

The death of a nine-week-old Rockland baby last week was the state's 25th homicide of the year, according to Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. Last week state and Rockland Police arrested 24-year-old Robert Harford and charged him with the death of his daughter, Ava, who was born June 16. The little girl was unresponsive when taken by ambulance from her home on Aug. 17. An autopsy by the State Medical Examiner's Office showed she died of multiple blunt force head injuries.

Of the 25 homicides so far this year, 16 are related to domestic violence. Four victims have been children under age of 2.