The father of a Newton County child who was attacked by raccoons earlier this month has been charged with keeping the animals that attacked his infant daughter as pets.

According to Newton County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Lt. Tyrone Oliver, an investigation by the sheriff’s office and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources revealed that the child’s father, 35-year-old Michael Wayne Cannon, had brought the raccoons home around June and had bottle fed the animals. They were treated as family pets until a month ago when they were placed outside of the home in the backyard.

“Investigators were told that the raccoons would often gain access into the residence through open windows and side panels of the window air conditioning units,” said Oliver in a press release Nov. 18.

Cannon has been charged by the Department of Natural Resources with holding and possessing game species without game holding permit and unlawful possession or use of wildlife. He was booked into the Newton County Detention Center and posted a $2,000 bond.

Authorities were called to the home early on Nov. 3 after the 9-month-old child’s mother woke up to find two raccoons in the child’s bed, biting her on the head, arms and legs. The child was transported to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston where she was treated until her release late last week.

The mother had reportedly told authorities that the raccoons had pushed their way into the bedroom through the side panels of a window air conditioning unit.