"Home alone" dad charged with abusing 2-month-old son; baby may have permanent injuries (White Lake, Minnesota)

Yeah, like he can totally explain. He was home alone and all this stuff just, um, happened...

Dad is identified as ANTHONY MICHAEL LONGVILLE.

http://www.presspubs.com/white_bear/news/article_bd91e264-4083-11e5-ab6c-07fcc2292f04.html

Father charged with abusing baby

Posted: Tuesday, August 11, 2015 6:50 pm

A White Bear Township man is accused of abusing his infant son, possibly causing permanent harm.

Anthony Michael Longville, 29, was charged Aug. 7 with malicious punishment of a child. When he was 2-months-old, Longville's now 9-month-old son sustained multiple injuries allegedly caused by shaking or blunt force trauma.

According to the criminal complaint, the baby was taken to a hospital by ambulance because he was having difficulty breathing on Jan. 21. Longville was home alone with the baby and said he had left his son briefly unattended and returned to find him gasping for breath. The baby had no prior heath issues, Longville and his wife told an investigator.

Children's Hospital medical professionals found that the baby had bruising of his brain, bleeding and tearing in his eyes, scratches on his torso and multiple broken ribs in different stages of healing. Multiple medical professionals suspected the child was abused, according to the complaint. The brain injuries might have caused permanent brain damage and the eye injuries might have caused permanent vision impairment, the complaint states.

Longville's attorney provided a statement from a physician claiming that the baby's injuries might not have been the result of abuse. Dr. Steven Gabaeff reported the brain bleeding could have occurred before or shortly after the baby was born, that the difficulty breathing might have been caused by the vaccinations the baby received two days earlier and the broken ribs could have been caused by rickets.

Physicians at Children's Hospital's refuted Gabaeff's claims as improbable due to multiple reasons, according to the complaint. Dr. Alice Swenson “found that explanation to be unreasonable in light of the total constellation of injuries to this child, which are consistent with inflicted trauma and child abuse,” the complaint states.

Longville was booked and released on his own recognizance. His first court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 28.