Category Archives: Shaken Baby Syndrome

Child Abuse, Child Innocence, Law Enforcement, Physical Abuse, Shaken Baby Syndrome, StopChildAbuse

MD Man Facing Felony Child Abuse Charges

.jpg photo of child abuse graphic
Paul Frederick Herd Sr., 57, is charged with first-degree child abuse resulting in severe physical injury, first-degree assault and second-degree custodial child abuse.

Cecil County man charged with Child Abuse; accused of shaking baby

April 02, 2020

CECIL COUNTY, MD  –  A man is facing felony child abuse charges after he allegedly shook a 5-month-old baby in his Cecil County household, causing significant injury to the infant’s brain, according to charging documents.

Investigators identified the suspect as 57-year-old Paul Frederick Herd Sr., who remained in the Cecil County Detention Center without bond on Thursday, two days after his bail review hearing, court records show.

Herd is charged with first-degree child abuse resulting in severe physical injury, first-degree assault and second-degree custodial child abuse – all of which are felonies – in addition to three misdemeanor offenses, according to Cecil County District Court records.

“At this time, it is impossible to know what long term effects will be; however, portions of the brain were deprived oxygen due to the hemorrhaging,” Cecil County Sheriff’s Office Det. Chase Arminger, lead investigator, outlines in his written statement of probable cause filed on Tuesday.

The investigation started on March 19, when Arminger responded to Nemours A.I. DuPont Children’s Hospital in Wilmington, Del., after physicians there alerted that they were treating a 5-month-old baby for “injuries consistent with physical abuse,” police said.

Doctors reported that the infant was “actively seizing with no medical explanation,” that a CAT scan revealed the infant was suffering from “acute and chronic” bleeding inside the head; and that a retinal scan indicated “significant (bleeding) in both eyes,” police added.

“The ruptured blood vessels in the retinal area were too numerous to count.  Medical professionals advised (that) the injuries present were inconsistent with the explanation given at the time the infant was presented to the medical staff.  Det. Arminger was advised that the mechanism of injury was physical abuse consistent with shaking, unless or until, proven otherwise,” according to court records.

That prompted Arminger to conduct separate interviews with five other people who were living in the house with the baby – the infant’s mother, the mother’s boyfriend and the mothers’s two other children, who are elementary-school aged, police reported.

The mother told Arminger that the baby and her two other children had been left in the sole care of Herd on March 14 and again on March 17, police said.  The mother also told the investigator that she noticed a change in the baby’s behavior on March 16, police added.

“The infant was refusing (its) bottle, sleeping off and on, and being abnormally fussy. Through March 16 through March 18, the infant’s condition continued to deteriorate, prompting the mother to schedule an appointment with a pediatrician,” court records show.

On the morning of March 19, however, the baby started seizing and, after consulting the pediatrician on the phone, the mother called 911 — resulting in an ambulance crew driving the infant to A.I. DuPont Children’s Hospital, police reported.

The mother’s boyfriend, during his separate interview, gave a similar account of when Herd was alone with the baby and the other two children in the house, police said.  He, too, also told Arminger that the baby had been moody and had a diminished appetite, police added.

In addition, according to court records, the mother’s boyfriend reported that he noticed a small bruise on the baby’s face on the night of March 17 and that he was unsure of the cause.

The mother’s boyfriend also noted Herd had told him that, on March 14, one of the elementary-aged children had tripped over the baby while the infant was on the floor — an incident that occurred while all three children were in Herd’s sole care, court records show.

During their separate interviews, the elementary-aged children gave similar accounts of Herd’s alleged reaction after the tripping incident took place, police said.

The older of the two children described Herd as “mad” at the sibling who had tripped over the baby, police added.

That older child told Arminger that Herd then picked up the infant and “shook her up and down saying, ‘It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay’,” court records allege.

The younger of the two elementary-aged children told the investigator that Herd picked up the baby and “moved (the infant) up and down” while saying, “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

During his interview, Herd told investigators that the tripping incident occurred on March 17, not March 14, and that the baby was not injured and was “doing fine” and “taking bottles normally,” police reported.

When asked about the events of the March 13-15 weekend, according to court records, investigators noticed a “significant behavior change” in Herd.  Investigators observed Herd “look away and appear withdrawn while giving answers to specific questions,” police reported.

Herd denied watching the baby and the two older children over the March 13-15 weekend, until detectives shared details given during other interviews, police said. At that point, police added, Herd “admitted to watching the children, but only for 30 minutes.”

When asked to detail what occurred right before and directly after the baby’s mother called 911 on morning of March 19, Herd told investigators that the infant was “barely conscious,” and that he attempted to help the baby while waiting for the ambulance, police reported.

“I (Herd) kept holding (the baby’s hands) and keeping (the baby) alert, because I know when you have a concussion, you don’t go to sleep,” according to court records, which further allege, “(Herd) would have had no knowledge the infant had a head injury at the time 911 was contacted unless there was prior knowledge of the mechanism of injury.”

Arminger arrested Herd on Tuesday, court records show.

Child Abuse, Child Innocence, Good Parenting, Neglect, Shaken Baby Syndrome, StopChildAbuse

Your Child Deserves Good Parents

9 Comments
.jpg photo of a good parenting graphic
How you raise your Child could mean the difference in Life or Death.

Quality Time Needs to Be a Family Priority

I am going to attempt to reach out to all Parents with this, although we want to draw young couples and young parents-to-be to Our Sites, where they can better prepare to be the Parents their Child needs.

No matter what kind of Parent you are, there is one thing you will never teach your Child.

The first, and most important thing a Child should “FEEL” is LOVE.  I believe that when a Child is born, it is possible to be ahead.  But let’s start from the beginning, and just so everyone knows, it is possible to, up to a point, to look at your wife and Child and say “I am so very sorry , PLEASE, I love you both, but I have wronged you both”.  ( If this is the wife, just change the words to read accordingly).

You should love your significant other as much as you love yourself, and you should be an honest person already, if not how can you even think of doing your significant other and family-to-be like this????

The same goes for violence toward your significant other and a family????

IT IS WRONG TO IMPLANT INDIFFERENCE IN A CHILD’S HEART

While we are here, you and this young Lady(even if you are joining in on this as seasoned Parents) are forming a TEAM, and contrary to what anyone says, there is no master or slave.

Learn to open up and talk, but be totally honest. If you are not best friends, it is time you really get to know each other, and at this point you never, never, never, ever betray the trust in which you told each other your deepest… and dreams.

But now is the time to train yourselves to talk softly, and you both might as well get rid of the dirty habits: chewing tobacco… OK, what is it? No, No, not you just the Mother-to-be, since it is her job to deal with your young football player 24 hours a day for 11 years…. OF Course I MEAN YOU TOO, new Mothers have depression, and it is the Father’s responsibility to deal with their Child as much as possible, and that doesn’t mean just when you aren’t playing pool or horseshoes.

The other member of your Team will need a time just to herself, EVERY DAY, and this is not just her naptime, that does not count.

Now back to stopping things an innocent Child should not know: tobacco, cussing, arguing, fighting, alcohol, drugs(all 3 kinds, illicit, over-the-counter, and prescription, and that goes for the fake over-the-counter synthetic drugs), pornography, loud music, and junk television.

Next the Team will need to start early and get you a child-proofing-the-house list going, along with Emergency plans for various possibilities.

OK, when your Teammate conceives, it will be time to start talking softly to this bundle of joy while lightly rubbing and touching this “bump” as your Child grows. You can sing softly, and read to this soon-to-be addition to the Team.

It will be a really good time to prepare yourselves, so read-up on facts like bonding to Mom and Dad, Newborns get scared very easily, and most particularly uncontrollable crying, which is Purple crying or Blue Face(it was called when my oldest taught me the hard way what this thing is, that far too many end up hurting their Child for life by Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Last but not least, the things you DO NOT DO AT ALL, EVEN ONE(1) TIME!!!!

You never discipline a Child when you are angry.  You NEVER talk MEAN to them, NEVER criticize them, if they are having trouble with homework, you help them, and if you can’t do the problems just imagine what this dear Child feels like in front of his peers.

Now it is time for you and your Teammate to start practicing Quality Time.

You can NOT teach your Child LOVE, it is a feeling, a felt thing. But you will begin as a smiling, long-suffering Parent, teaching your Child the basic qualities necessary to be a Good Family Member, Good Friend, Good Pupil, Good Citizen, Good Employee, Good Soldier, Good Boss, and a Good Civil Servant, by teaching Truth, Honor, Respect while being Respected, Duty, and Responsibility(which, by 18-years-of-age, will be Responsibility For One’s Own Actions).

This Child must be protected by you and your teammate for 18 years.

Child Abuse, DayCare, Law Enforcement, Physical Abuse, Shaken Baby Syndrome, StopChildAbuse

FL Woman Accused Of Shaking Baby

.jpg photo of florida day care worker accused of shaking baby
Sarah Loria, 20, accused of shaking Baby at Day Care.

Daycare worker arrested, charged with
2 counts of aggravated Child Abuse

BRANDON, FL  –  A daycare worker in Brandon was arrested on Friday for two counts of aggravated child abuse, officials say.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office say on Dec. 18, the parents of an infant took their child to the pediatrician when the baby turned pale in color and began throwing up.  The baby spent the say attending Shepherd Day Care at 208 Terrace Drive in Brandon.

The infant was in the sole care and custody of 20-year-old Sarah Loria at the daycare.

The pediatrician initially diagnosed the baby with a stomach virus.

On Dec. 20, when Loria was caring for the baby, the infant became unresponsive. Loria then contacted the parent’s who transported the baby to a local hosital.

After an evaluation, it was confirmed that the infant suffered from shaken baby syndrome from both incidents.

On Friday, detectives with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office located and arrested Loria for two counts of aggravated child abuse.

She was transported to the Orient Road Jail without incident.

Child Abuse, Indifference, Law Enforcement, Physical Abuse, Shaken Baby Syndrome, StopChildAbuse

PA Mother Now Faces Felony Charges

2 Comments
.jpg photo of father of newborn that was abused so badly
Jamie Edward Easley, 40, Shaler Township, PA.

‘One Of The Most Violent Cases Of
Child Abuse’

SHALER TOWNSHIP, PA  –  A Shaler Township mother is facing felony charges for allegedly abusing her child in “one of the most violent cases” Children’s Hospital doctors have seen.

Katie Easley is now facing charges alongside father Jamie Easley for the alleged abuse of their newborn daughter, who was admitted to UPMC Children’s Hospital with severe injuries in September.

According to police, the 4-week-old girl was taken to Children’s Hospital after her primary care doctor found multiple bruises on her face and abdomen.

The child’s mother allegedly told the doctor the little girl had not eaten in nearly two days.

At the hospital, doctors found the girl had skull fractures, subdural hemorrhages, 19 rib fractures and other fractures to her left arm and her legs.  She was admitted in critical condition to the hospital’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

According to the criminal complaint, Jamie told investigators during a police interview that the baby’s older sibling pulled her off a bed. However, doctors said a fall from a bed would not cause the kind of injuries she had.

Police say Jamie later told them he grabbed the baby girl by the arm while she was crying, held her up, squeezed her and gave her “a quick shake.”   Soon after, the baby stopped crying.

Now, police are charging Katie with a felony endangering the welfare of children. The criminal complaint accuses Katie of not taking her critically injured baby to the hospital until the 31-day-old newborn stopped eating all together.

It also says detectives later searched Katie’s phone history and allegedly found Google searches from earlier in the month including “bruising on baby” and “why isn’t my baby eating?”

Police say Children’s Hospital doctors said “given the age of the victim, it was one of the most violent cases of child abuse they have seen, bone in arm completely snapped in half, and the worst rib fractures they have seen.”

KDKA’s Meghan Schiller reports charges against Jamie still stand.  Katie was released on non-monetary bond and is slated to go before the judge for her preliminary hearing on Dec. 19.

Child Abuse, Child Innocence, Death, Indifference, Physical Abuse, Shaken Baby Syndrome

Treatment Withdrawn From Infant

1 Comment
.jpg photo of woman accused of shaking infant.
Maria Antonio-Jose, 24

Bonita woman faces aggravated Child Abuse charges after baby in her care is
seriously hurt

LEE COUNTY, FL  –  A 5-month-old baby boy has severe brain damage, and a Bonita Springs woman is facing aggravated child abuse charges after the infant she was watching for a friend stopped breathing, and a medical exam found he had suffered extensive internal injuries.

Maria Antonio-Jose, 24, was arrested Saturday and remains in Lee County Jail on $200,000 bond.  Her arraignment will be July 9.

The Florida Department of Children and Families has opened a child protection investigation into the incident.

“We have not had prior involvement with the child or the alleged perpetrator,” said Natalie Harrell, spokeswoman for Suncoast Region of DCF.  “At this time, as the investigation is ongoing, the information we can share is limited.”

A Lee County Sheriff’s Office report said the baby was left with Antonio-Jose on May 15 while the mother, a friend, went to work.  At noon Antonio-Jose called the mother and told her the baby had stopped breathing due to choking on milk.

The sheriff’s report said Antonio-Jose’s husband also said she called him at work and said the baby had choked on milk and wasn’t breathing.

The infant was first taken to North Collier Hospital and then transported to Golisano Children’s Hospital in south Fort Myers. He was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, extensive retinal hemorrhaging, ripped right retina, considered to be in a persistent vegetative state and was not expected to recover.

Examination of the child also found that the injury was not consistent with choking but rather with severe child abuse.

A sheriff’s report said the child protection team at Golisano described the brain injury as the result of a rapid acceleration/deceleration injury which, according to medical dictionaries, can be caused by blows or vehicle crashes and results from the abrupt movement and deformation of the brain in the cranial cavity.

Treatment was withdrawn Friday and the infant was transferred to hospice care.