Man accused of sexually assaulting his girlfriend’s nine-month-old daughter

Police are calling it 'the worst case of sexual assault they have seen in two decades'

The baby's mother said she found her daughter naked and covered in blood in the basement of her apartment block (Jackson County Police)

Police in West Virginia have arrested a 32-year-old man after he was accused of sexually assaulting his girlfriend’s nine-month-old daughter.

Deputies said it was "the worst case of sexual assault they have seen in two decades", ABC reported.

The victim’s mother said she had been sleeping and awoke to find her daughter and boyfriend, Benjamin Taylor, missing. She called emergency services after discovering her daughter's naked body, unconscious and covered in blood, in the basement of her apartment block. The baby is now in a critical condition.

Taylor said he had taken the infant to the basement of the apartment to do laundry earlier in the evening but then he “blacked out” and did not know how the child was injured.

Police said when they interviewed Taylor he changed his story multiple times, that they had seen him trying to rub blood they believe came from the baby off himself and that large amounts of blood had been found on blankets and clothing in the basement.

Taylor is being held at South Central Regional Jail on a $2 million (£1.6 million) bond.