Dad convicted of assaulting 9-month-old son (Sinsbury, Connecticut)

The baby was in dad CHRISTOPHER BERMAN's "care" while Mom was at work. Why we need better maternity leaves in this country....

http://articles.courant.com/2013-05-20/community/hc-simsbury-father-son-assault-0521-20130520_1_your-town-news-hurting-son-judge-joan-k

Simsbury Father Convicted Of Hurting Son

May 20, 2013|

By DAVID OWENS, The Hartford Courant

HARTFORD — A Simsbury father pleaded guilty Monday to risk of injury to a minor for assaulting his infant son and was sentenced to five years in prison and five years of probation.

Christopher Berman, 29, pleaded guilty under the Alford doctrine, meaning he did not agree with the facts presented by prosecutors but pleaded guilty to take advantage of the plea agreement rather than risk going to trial.

Prosecutor Thomas Garcia told Judge Joan K. Alexander that on Sept. 9, 2012 Berman's 9-month-old son was left in his care while the baby's mother worked in Boston.

Berman became frustrated with the baby and bent the child's leg back toward his head, causing it to fracture. In a statement to Simsbury police, Berman said he was tired and trying to sleep, but the baby was keeping him awake. Angry, he grabbed the baby's right leg. "I bent his leg forward toward his head and heard a popping noise," Berman said.

Berman also faced charges for an earlier incident where he allegedly squeezed the baby, causing him to go into cardiac arrest. Doctors, however, disagreed about what happened and the state would have had a hard time proving its case at trial, Garcia said.

Alexander ordered Berman to have no contact with the child while on probation, to undergo mental health counseling and have no contact with children younger than 16