Dad bashes skull of newborn son during visitation (Lafayette, Indiana)

A young father, presumably never married/committed to the mother and afflicted with "intermittent explosive disorder" (i.e. typical violent young dude), NEVERTHELESS gets visitation anyway. Court-ordered? In Indiana, it wouldn't surprise me in the least.

The results don't surprise me in the least either.

Stop giving these sperm donor freaks visitation rights. They are not committed loving father/helpmates. They're just trouble.

Dad is identified as BRENDAN T. BELL.

http://www.jconline.com/article/20130426/NEWS03/304260020/Teen-dad-who-beat-son-ashamed-going-prison

Teen dad who beat son 'ashamed,' going to prison

Apr. 26, 2013 2:43 PM | Written by Sophia Voravong

A Lafayette teenager was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for hitting his 2-week-old son, causing skull fractures and brain bleeding that hospitalized the boy in intensive care last fall.

The boy, now 7 months old, recovered and is developing well.

His father, 19-year-old Brendan T. Bell, pleaded guilty last month in Tippecanoe Superior Court 1 to battery on a child, a Class B felony. He also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery against a relative in an unrelated case that occurred this past January.

Bell’s prison time will be followed by two years on community corrections and three years on supervised probation. He could be ordered at a later date to pay restitution for the boy’s medical costs.

During Friday’s sentencing hearing, Bell apologized for losing his temper and said he wants to help raise and “throw a ball around” with the boy — something he never got to experience with his own father.

“Clearly, no doubt about it, I was wrong,” Bell said. “My son didn’t deserve any of this. I love my son. I want to change.

“I would do anything to be with him right now, to hold him in my arms. ... When I see the pictures of him, I’m ashamed of myself.”

The charges stem from Bell’s arrest on Oct. 7, after his mother called police to report her grandson’s injuries.

The injuries were inflicted a day prior, on Oct. 6, after Bell picked his son up from the boy’s mother in West Lafayette. Bell and the mother were not in a relationship.

According to court documents, shortly after Bell put his son in a car seat and drove away, the boy became fussy and would not stop crying. Attempts to calm him down with a pacifier did not help.

Bell struck the right side of his son’s face three to six times.

He admitted to noticing that the boy’s injuries worsened through the night — bruises developed down his face, and the boy was not eating — but Bell did not seek help because he was “selfish,” having recently been and “did not want to lose” his job, the affidavit states.

Doctors at Riley Hospital for Children found skull fractures, subdural hematomas and scalp hematomas. He was released from Riley on Oct. 11.

On Friday, deputy prosecutor Emily Orsinger argued for a 12-year prison sentence and expressed concerns that Bell might harm his son again.

A psychologist who examined Bell diagnosed him with intermittent explosive disorder. The mental illness is marked by episodes of unwarranted anger, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Judge Randy Williams also said that diagnosis was a concern.

“I don’t see how anyone can do this to a child. To an infant, a baby,” he said. “I don’t understand. “There’s no excuse for what happened, and you’ve taken ownership of that.”