Prosecutors: Father battered 3-month-old son
A young father was ordered held on $2.5 million bail Thursday on child battery charges after, prosecutors say, he patted his 3-month-old son on the back so forcefully the baby required medical attention.
Prosecutors say James Howard, 24, and the baby's mother were staying at a relative's Mount Prospect home Saturday when Howard "patted him forcefully on the back" after the baby had eaten.
Several hours later, after the baby awoke crying, the mother noticed fresh bruises on his back, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Caitlin Casey. The mother also noticed the baby winced when she touched his back, Casey said. The baby's mother, his maternal grandmother and Howard's mother urged Howard to take the boy to a hospital but he refused, stating the baby's mother "was going against him," Casey said.
Later, in Chicago, the mother's relatives urged her to take the baby to the hospital.
On Monday, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services removed the baby from the home and brought him to the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, where doctors diagnosed him with "trauma to the back from multiple strikes," Casey said.
An MRI confirmed fluid on the baby's brain resulted from trauma to his head, Casey said. He remains in the hospital, she said.
Police arrested Howard Sept. 6. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison.