A 21-year-old father, accused of severely shaking his 9-month-old child, was found guilty today of reckless child abuse resulting in death.
Adams County prosecutors contended that Jesse Sifuentes became frustrated by the continuous crying of his son, Xavier, who was teething.
The baby sustained severe injuries including severed nerves in his brain, spinal nerve root hemorrhages, clotted blood in the brain and eyes and bruising to the right ear and arm.
Sifuentes will be sentenced March 31 and faces a sentence from 16 to 48 years.
On May 25, 2008, the baby was airlifted from a Thornton residence by Flight for Life to Children’s Hospital where he died a couple of days later.
The case was tried by prosecutors Sarah Collins and David Goddard.
Collins said she understands when parents become upset with crying babies. However, they have a duty to protect the child, she said.
Here, said Collins, Sifuentes had the option to place Xavier in a crib in another room where he would have been safe.
During the trial, experts testified that the injuries suffered by the 9-month-old were not consistent with accidental shaking or the result of negligence.
Defense lawyers contended the baby was accidentally shaken while Sifuentes was running with the child with his head unsupported.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
