A Polk County man was arrested and charged with child abuse after he was accused of shaking a baby and causing critical injuries.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office identified ZI, 24, as the caregiver of a 3-month-old boy who was rushed to the hospital on November 26 with a brain bleed and other injuries.
“It’s not going to hurt the baby to cry,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. “What is going to hurt the baby is when you lose control.”
Judd told News Channel 8 the 24-year-old father initially tried throwing investigators off with a few different stories.
I told PCSO detectives that he found the boy unresponsive in a baby swing after leaving him alone for around 10 to 15 minutes. He called the baby’s mother to report that he wasn’t breathing, and she told him to call 911.
Doctors at Winter Haven Hospital determined the baby had a brain bleed, spinal cord injuries, bruising on the lower abdomen and buttocks, and suffered from seizures as a result of being “violently shaken,” PCSO said. The boy’s injuries will likely cause permanent disability to his brain, the Hillsborough County Child Protection Team determined.
“The abuse that this baby suffered at the hands of his caregiver is simply unfathomable,” Judd said. “We pray that this baby is able to recover from his significant injuries, and that the suspect is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Medical staff confirmed that I’s explanations for the injury were not founded and the boy’s mother was not home at the time of the incident, meaning I was the only adult present at the home. There were three other children in the house when it happened.
I was charged with aggravated child abuse.
“He didn’t seem like a guy that might be doing something like that — just a normal guy,” said next-door neighbor Emmitt Polston.
Polston told 8 On Your Side the father told him the same story when they met at the mailbox that day.
“A small baby, I don’t know why somebody would do something like that to anyone that couldn’t help themselves,” Polston said.
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Source: wfla
