Dad convicted of abuse: New evidence could clear me

Claiming new evidence could exonerate him, the attorney for a former Huntley man convicted of slamming his infant son's head against an entertainment center filed court documents Friday asking for a second trial.

The motion, filed on behalf of Jay Siedelberg, says his defense has retained an expert in pediatrics and neurology who disputes trial testimony that the boy's injuries were the result of an intentional act.

"Based on the documents given to me at this time, I disagree with the conclusion that (the boy's) injuries were the result of abusive head trauma," Dr. Steven Barry Abern states in an affidavit attached to the motion.

Siedelberg, 28, of West Chicago, was found guilty in December of aggravated battery to a child stemming from permanent brain injuries his then 11-week-old son suffered while in his care Oct. 27, 2005. The incident occurred while Siedelberg and his family were living in Huntley.

He faces a mandatory term of six to 30 years in prison at sentencing, scheduled for March 26.

Siedelberg testified that he accidentally bumped the boy's head against an entertainment center while swinging him in an effort to stop his crying.

But one of the boy's treating physicians, in testimony that would become central to Siedelberg's conviction, said there was virtually no way the boy's injuries were an accident. Dr. Thomas Valvano instead likened the impact to a fall from a two-story window or a television falling on top of the child.

But in the defense motion for a new trial, Abern states the boy's injuries could be attributed to causes other than abuse. He does not list those possible causes.

The new trial request also claims Siedelberg's trial attorneys failed to properly warn him about the consequences of testifying in his own defense.

By taking the witness stand to deny the charges, the defense says, Siedelberg opened the door for prosecutors to confront him with incriminating statements he made earlier to police. Siedelberg's trial lawyers, according to affidavits filed by him and his wife, assured them that would not happen.

Philip Hiscock, criminal division chief for the McHenry County State's Attorney, said prosecutors would prepare a written response to the defense motion.