Custodial dad charged with assault of 2-year-old son (Menifee, California)

What the hell is going on here? Dad CLEOPHUS FITTS II was on probation for abusing another child, and yet gets custody of his 2-year-old son anyway. Within ONE MONTH, he "allegedly" beats this child badly enough to put him in intensive care. Now Daddy is charged with attempted murder and torture.

What judge thought it was a dandy idea to put a 2-year-old child in this man's care? Name please.

http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/menifee/menifee-headlines/20120409-menifee-dad-charged-with-assault-on-2-year-old.ece

MENIFEE: Dad charged with assault on 2-year-old

BY SARAH BURGE

The Press Enterprise STAFF WRITER

Published: 09 April 2012 06:45 PM

A Menifee father has been charged with assaulting his 2-year-old son, who was hospitalized with serious injuries earlier this year, court records show.

Riverside County sheriff’s investigators arrested Cleophus Fitts II, 26, last week on suspicion of attempted murder, torture and other charges.

Fitts had a hearing last week in Riverside County Superior Court but did not enter a plea, court records show.

His bail is set at $1 million.

No one at the Riverside County public defender’s office was available Monday to comment on the case. Sheriff’s officials have said Fitts took his son to a hospital in February saying that the child had accidentally fallen down the stairs at their Menifee home.

The boy, who suffered serious head, neck and brain injuries, is still in a hospital intensive care unit, investigators said last week. Fitts pleaded guilty a year ago to abusing another small child in Washington state and was sentenced to probation, court records show.

Sheriff’s officials have said the mother of the child lives out of state and Fitts had custody since January.