A Cortez man has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting and seriously injuring an 8-month-old baby girl Wednesday night, said Cortez Police Chief Roy Lane.

The suspect, 21-year-old Joseph Stuckman, was being held in the Montezuma County Jail on a $100,000 bond Friday and was awaiting formal charges.

Lane said the child was transported to Southwest Memorial Hospital and then airlifted to Denver Children’s Hospital, where she underwent several hours of surgery and is now reportedly recovering.

"Last thing I heard, she was critical but stable," Lane said Friday afternoon.

Jennifer McCarty, public-relations director for Denver Children’s Hospital, said she was unable to comment on the infant’s condition or injuries.

"We can’t release any information when that (a rape) has been alleged," McCarty said.

Lane said the case is still under investigation and the name of the child and her parents would not be released to the public to protect their privacy.

Details surrounding the tragic incident are still sketchy, Lane said, but he said no one else was considered to be a suspect.

"Right now we’re not sure exactly where it happened," he said. "The mother took the baby to the hospital and we responded."

Lane said the father was with the infant Wednesday night but was not present at the time of the alleged assault.

Stuckman, an acquaintance of the child’s family, is believed to have been alone with the baby at some point, but it is not clear why or under what circumstances.

Lane said he did not know whether the parents had acted negligently leading up to the assault on the infant, and said that for now, those concerns were outside the focus of the immediate investigation.

"We’re not looking at that right now," Lane said. "We’re trying to put together the case against him (Stuckman) and if it leads us to (filing) charges against other people, then we will do so."

Lane would not comment on whether Stuckman had denied or confessed to the crime or whether drugs or alcohol had been involved.

It is also too soon to know if there will be any DNA evidence to link Stuckman to the assault, Lane said. "We collected evidence from the baby, but at this point in time it hasn’t been analyzed," he said.

District Attorney Joe Olt said his office was waiting for more information before filing charges, but said Stuckman would definitely be charged with at least two counts — Class 2 felony first-degree sexual assault on a child and Class 3 felony second-degree sexual assault on a child. Olt said the difference between sexual assault and molestation is that sexual assault involves penetration.

If convicted, Olt said, Stuckman could face a minimum of four years and a maximum of 48 years.

"This is certainly an extraordinary-risk crime," Olt said.

However, pending charges for an unrelated alleged offense have suggested that Stuckman may not be mentally competent to stand trial.

According to district-court records, Stuckman is charged with theft and auto trespass, but the case is scheduled for a review hearing on April 5 to determine his ability to comprehend the charges.

"We believe that he’s competent to stand trial," Olt said. "The court has a hearing set on the 5th to figure out what they were going to do with him (on the trespass and theft charges) but on April 4, we’re going to ask the court to find him competent."

Olt said that if Stuckman is not ruled competent, he would likely be sent to the state hospital in Pueblo, where he would be treated and confined.

Lane said the rape was horrific for everyone who came in contact with the case and the police department has already responded with grief counseling for the officers, paramedics and others who responded to the incident.

"It’s probably as gross of one as I’ve seen in many, many, many years," Lane said. "We had a debriefing last night and we will continue to give them all the help they need."