Stepfather Says He Stuck 42 Needles in Toddler: Police

Dec. 17, 2009— -- Roberto Carlos Magalhães, the stepfather of a 2-year-old Brazilian boy who had 42 sewing needles lodged in his body, has confessed to piercing the toddler, a police official told reporters Thursday.

The child's identity has not been released due to his age. Doctors originally believed that the boy, of the Brazilian state of Bahia, had up to 50 needles -- some as long as two inches -- lodged in his body. Earlier this week, the boy had been receiving care at the Hospital do Oeste in Barreiras, Brazil, but he has now been airlifted to Ana Neri Hospital in the city of Salvador to get the surgery necessary to remove the needles, according to the Associated Press.

Dr. Fabio Contelle of the Hospital do Oeste said that the surgery, which has not yet been scheduled, is considered urgent but not an emergency. The boy was in intensive care but was in stable condition at the time of the 240-mile trip to Salvador.

Surgery could be a dicey endeavor. Doctors at Hospital do Oeste told the Brazilian newspaper O Globo that two of the needles are dangerously close to the boy's heart, which will complicated their removal.

Moreover, Dr. Luiz Cesar Soltoski at the Hospital do Oeste, who had been treating the boy, told reporters that he believed some of the needles would have to stay inside the boy's body because they are close to his liver, making their removal too dangerous. X-rays revealed that several of the other needles are also lodged near vital organs.

Meanwhile, a police official speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that 33-year-old Magalhães has confessed to embedding the needles in the child. Magalhães on Wednesday had claimed innocence in the boy's injuries, but now police said that he committed the act with the assistance of a female acquaintance. The official said that police are now investigating whether the incident was associated with a black magic ritual.