Dad sentenced to prison for severely beating 7-week-old baby (Yorkville, Illinois)

Dad is identified as JOHN BURTON JR.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/aurora-beacon-news/crime/ct-abn-yorkville-child-abuse-st-1007-20151006-story.html

Yorkville father sentenced to prison for beating infant son

Yorkville man sentenced for abusing infant son Erika Wurst

Aurora Beacon-News
Yorkville man sentenced to 18 years in prison for beating son

A Yorkville father has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to physically abusing his infant son and leaving him severely injured for life, Kendall County State's Attorney Eric Weis announced Monday.

John Burton Jr., 23, 2100 block of Bluebird Lane, was convicted of felony aggravated battery to a child stemming from an April 2013 incident at his home.

Prosecutors said on that day, Yorkville police responded to Burton's home for reports of a child in distress. Paramedics said the 7-week-old baby's mother had begun administering CPR, but the baby needed critical medical assistance.

Weis said the baby was airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center following initial treatment at an Aurora hospital. Medical staff at Loyola observed multiple injuries, including bruising along the left cheek, eyelid, neck and ear, he said.

Weis said a CT scan revealed subdural hemorrhages and doctors also observed a mid-shaft femoral fracture on the child's leg. Doctors determined the injuries were consistent with physical abuse.

According to Weis, Burton, who was with the child at the time of the injuries, was interviewed by investigators and admitted to abusing his child.

As a result of the traumatic brain injury, the child now suffers from cerebral palsy and is blind, Weis said.

The cerebral palsy has caused him to have very poor muscle tone and he cannot control his body movements, he said.

Weis said the child is seen by eight different types of doctors, takes 12 different medications, attends 10 different therapies every week and is fed through a gastro-intestinal tube.

During Burton's sentencing, the child's mother read an emotional, four-page victim impact statement about the changes to her life and that of her small child.

"I will likely never hear him say "I love you Mom,'" she told Kendall County Judge Timothy McCann. "I will never see my once healthy son grow into the man he should have become. I can never see the world through my child's eyes because of your (Burton's) actions. (His) mind and body are locked into his own private jail cell."

Weis commended the efforts of the Yorkville Police Department and the medical personnel for their efforts in the case.

"Unfortunately, no sentence will allow this innocent child to lead a normal and healthy life due to the actions of John Burton," he said. " As his mother told the court, while his (Burton's) sentence will some day be served, this child will be serving a life sentence that no one should have to endure."

Burton will be required to serve at least 85 percent of his 18-year sentence.