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Man charged with assaulting 3-year-old nephew in Worcester

Worcester police on Thursday night arrested a 21-year-old man who allegedly tried to kill his 3-year-old nephew, choked and sexually assaulted him, and told an emergency dispatcher that he murdered the boy, officials said.

Taj McDonald called police at approximately 3:20 p.m. and said that he “just killed his 3 year old nephew” at the Lincoln Village apartment complex, Worcester police said in a statement.

Officers went to the apartment and were met by McDonald, who let them inside the residence, where they discovered the boy with “trauma to the face and neck area,” the statement said. He was rushed to a local hospital and was stable on Thursday night with injuries that were not life threatening, according to police.

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Investigators determined that McDonald was babysitting the child while the boy’s father was at work.

“Police were told that [McDonald] assaulted the boy several times,” the statement said.

McDonald was arrested on charges of attempted murder, reckless endangerment of a child, indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, assault and battery on a family or household member, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and strangulation, police said.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Worcester District Court. It was not known if he had retained a lawyer.

“As a result of today’s events, the Department of Children and Families were informed of this incident and are working with investigators,” the statement said. “Detectives obtained a search warrant for the apartment. Members of the WPD Crime Scene Unit secured the apartment and processed evidence.”

Andrea Grossman, a spokeswoman for DCF, said only that the child protection agency is investigating and “collaborating with law enforcement in its investigation.” She did not say whether the agency had prior involvement with the boy’s family, or whether DCF had taken custody of him or any relatives who are minors as of Thursday night.

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Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.