Dad indicted on aggravated battery charges for abusing infant son (Tinley, Illinois)

Dad JASON SCHUIT says he didn't abuse his infant son, though the baby somehow developed injuries consistent with being violently shaken--bleeding in the brain, severe retinal damage, rib fractures, breathing difficulties--while alone in Dad's care.

Is this another case of "black guys in ski masks" breaking into the house, with the sole intent of abusing white babies? Or maybe Evil Aliens from another planet who beamed through the ceiling? Sometimes you wonder if these guys realize how idiotic they sound.

http://www.southtownstar.com/news/2111023,031910schuit.article

Tinley father denies he shook baby son

March 19, 2010

BY AMY LEE

A Tinley Park father of two accused of shaking his infant so violently the boy suffered brain damage claims Cook County prosecutors rushed to judgment about him to generate publicity.

Jason Schuit, of 7311 Sandalwood Drive, was indicted Thursday on charges of aggravated battery to a child.

Authorities said he was home alone with the 2 1 / 2 -month-old Dec. 19 and shook the child with such force the baby suffered bleeding in the brain, severe damage to the retinas and rib fractures.

"It's just not true. I would never hurt my kids," said Schuit, who also has a 3-year-old son. "I don't know why they're doing this. Just to make a high-profile case, I guess."

Schuit, charged March 4, called 911 on Dec. 19 and said the boy was not breathing.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has investigated the incident and found allegations of abuse against Schuit and the child's mother, spokesman Kendall Marlowe has said. The SouthtownStar is not naming the mother because she has not been charged.

At the time of Schuit's arrest, authorities said the boy was in critical condition at Hope Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn. The baby had minimal brain activity, was connected to a ventilator and feeding tube and had no independent movement, court records show.

The boy's condition is improving and he is no longer on a ventilator, Schuit said Thursday.

"He's stable. He's slowing coming back to us," said Schuit, who wore a green striped sweater, jeans and running shoes to court. "He's not hooked up to any machines."

Schuit is barred from having any contact with the boy. Judge Raymond Jaglieski on Thursday allowed Schuit to have supervised telephone conversations with his older son.

Schuit is due back in court April 7.

His attorney, Zachary Bravos, of Wheaton, declined to comment beyond stating no "good" medical evidence exists to support the allegations of shaken baby syndrome.

Many doctors, though, say a baby who is shaken displays certain distinct kinds of injuries that aren't suffered in typical childhood accidents, which raises red flags of abuse.