Poway

A fugitive from Florida was being held without bail Thursday in County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and child molestation in the beating of a 2-year-old boy, the Sheriff’s Department reported.

John Travis Hensen, described by authorities as a transient, was arrested in El Cajon on Wednesday night--just hours after the unidentified child was rushed to a hospital, unconscious and bruised from the knees to the top of his head.

Sgt. Chris Von Olnhausen said the boy was brought to the Poway sheriff’s station by his mother Wednesday afternoon. The woman, whose name was not released, reportedly arrived home from work to find her son comatose with ligature marks around his neck. His face was so swollen that his eyes were forced shut.

The child was taken by Life Flight helicopter from the sheriff’s station to Sharp Memorial Hospital. He was later transferred to Children’s Hospital, where doctors determined that he had also been molested.

The Sheriff’s Department said Hensen, 26, had been living with the boy and his mother in the 12500 block of Oak Knoll Road.

Van Olnhausen said the suspect--who was being sought by authorities in Bradenton, Fla., in connection with a cocaine conviction--was arrested without incident in the 13000 block of Camino Canada in El Cajon. He faces charges of attempted murder, molestation and possibly other sex crimes, Van Olnhausen said.

A spokeswoman at Children’s Hospital said the boy was listed in critical but stable condition Thursday night.