A Vernon man faces child abuse charges, accused of shaking his infant daughter and causing injuries that required brain surgery.
Connecticut State Police arrested 28-year-old Michael Gonzalez Friday.
The investigation into Gonzalez began in February 2016, after he and the victim’s mother took their infant daughter to the hospital with head injuries.
According to the arrest warrant, Gonzalez and the victim’s mother brought the 7-week-old girl in because she was behaving strangely and experiencing seizures. She was admitted to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Doctors determined the child had bleeding in her brain and required emergency surgery.
Doctors told the parents the child’s injuries were consistent with “Shaken Baby Syndrome,” according to the arrest warrant.
Police conducted multiple interviews with Gonzalez, who changed his story about how his daughter could have been injured several times, according to the warrant. At one point, he claimed she may have been hurt when she bumped her head against his collarbone. In another interview, he told investigators he dropped the baby when he slipped on ice. In another, he said he threw the baby in the air during playtime.
During one 2018 interview detailed in the warrant, Gonzalez said the baby had been shaken, but claimed the baby's mother did it. When pressed on why he didn't report this information sooner, Gonzalez said he didn't report it because he didn't have proof.
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In an interview with the victim's mother, she claimed that she knew Gonzalez did something to the baby, but she didn't know what. She told investigators she knew this because she and Gonzalez were the only ones ever alone with the baby, the warrant said.
The victim's mother also said Gonzalez had gotten physical with her and it led her to seek a restraining order.
Based on the baby’s injuries, the interviews with Gonzalez and interviews with the victim’s mother, and other relatives and friends, investigators determined Gonzalez shook his daughter hard enough to cause serious injury.
Gonzalez is charged with first-degree assault, risk of injury to a child and false statement. He was held on a $100,000 bond and is due in court Monday.
