Dad convicted in abuse of 4-year-old son sentenced to 15 years in prison (New Port Richey, Florida)

As we so often see in these cases, abusive dads just get heaped with praise. Why? This poor child has chronic headaches from his father fracturing his skull while he was still just a baby, and yet we're told again and again how "good" and "responsible" dad MAX MANCERO really is--though this guy has NEVER even owned up to his own actions! Nauseating.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/man-convicted-in-abuse-of-4-year-old-sentenced-to-15-years-in-prison/1185768

Man convicted in abuse of 4-year-old sentenced to 15 years in prison
By Molly Moorhead, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Saturday, August 13, 2011

NEW PORT RICHEY — Christian Mancero wakes up screaming during the night. He has headaches and doesn't understand why.

The 4-year-old suffered severe brain injuries as an infant in 2007, and in June a jury convicted his father of aggravated child abuse.

Prosecutors said Max Mancero inflicted a "high-velocity impact" on his baby son's head.

Mancero, 26, was sentenced Friday.

Friends and family talked of the good person he is now who goes out and spreads his faith. His sister asked that he be given a chance to be a productive, responsible person.

Mancero, who never acknowledged any wrongdoing in his son's injuries, testified too, saying he went to barber school while his case was pending so he could work to support Christian's ongoing medical care.

"As a father I believe that it is my duty," he told Circuit Judge Mary Handsel.

But then Beatrice Diaz, Christian's mother, spoke.

She said she couldn't stand hearing all the praise heaped on Max Mancero.

"What about Christian?" Diaz asked. "Nobody here has spoken about Christian. My son has suffered for the last four years."

She said she wanted a 15-year prison sentence.

Handsel obliged.

"Everyone came here to ask for mercy for Max," the judge said. "But this is a case involving significant injury of a very small child."

Christian was taken to a St. Petersburg hospital on Sept. 10, 2007 with skull fractures and bruising on his genitals. He suffered seizures for 24 hours.

Max Mancero, then 22, re-created what he said happened in a video played for the jury. He felt movement on the bed next to him, and turned to look as he paused his video game. The baby, he said, "was already making the last turn to fall off the bed."

That description contradicted the medical evidence, Assistant State Attorney Eva Vergos said in the trial. Investigators determined Christian was slammed against something, leaving a V-shaped crack in his skull. Part of his brain simply died.