AUSTINTOWN - A man accused of beating a toddler until she suffered brain damage is scheduled for a preliminary hearing today, according to court records.

Meanwhile, the toddler's fight in the hospital remained serious Tuesday. Police say her condition became worse when she suffered six seizures Friday. The girl has brain damage, but it its unknown to what extent, police said.

"She was talking prior to the seizures,'' Austintown Detective Sgt. Raynor Holmes said Tuesday. ''It's a matter of time before we know how much damage there is."

The girl remains in critical condition at Akron Children's Hospital with a feeding tube, according to Holmes. She was sedated following the seizures and was put on seizure medication. Doctors started cutting back on the medication Tuesday, he said.

Jacquelan Bagshaw, the girl's mother, had no comment to make Tuesday, stating that she was in the hospital with her daughter.

Police say the toddler suffered a broken rib, internal bleeding, second-degree burns to her genitals, damage to her feet and fingers, and an eye hemorrhage that may have been caused by shaking. The injuries occurred over an unknown period of time, according to police.

Bagshaw's boyfriend, Timothy White, 29, was arrested Friday and sent to the Mahoning County Jail, charged with one count of felonious assault and three counts of child endangering. Police accused him of beating the girl while he baby-sat her Wednesday.

According to his attorney, Mark Lavelle, White is still in the Mahoning County Jail, held on $500,000 bond. Lavelle said he could not comment on the case because he was not familiar with all the details yet.

According to the court's Web site, White is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 10 a.m. today at Mahoning County Court 4 in front of Judge David D'Apolito.

According to police reports, White, a full-time student at Youngstown State University, called police at 1:21 p.m. Wednesday. When officers arrived, they found the girl lying on the living room floor unresponsive.

White told police that he was doing laundry down the hallway and left the door open. He claims in a written statement that when he entered the room, he caught a glimpse of the child's hand being caught in the door. When he pulled the door back the free the child, she fell backward to the floor and possibly hit her head, he said. He states that he called police when he saw that the child was falling asleep and he could not keep her awake.

White also claims that at 7 p.m. the night before, he was with the girl at Family Video at South Raccoon and Kirk Road, and that they were "on the way to the car laughing and playing" when she struck her head on the car door.

No one at the apartment complex office could be reached to comment Tuesday night.

brodgers@tribtoday.com