AUBURNDALE, Fla. — A Polk County man was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse after the sheriff's office said he admitted he shook a 2-month-old baby.
The baby is expected to make a full recovery. The sheriff's office said it suffered significant head injuries, which included hemorrhages to the brain, a slight skull fracture, and a .5 cm midline shift of the brain.
The investigation started on Thursday, Dec. 14, when the sheriff's office was contacted by ER staff at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center. The sheriff's office said Damian Trafton, 20, was watching the baby that day when the baby got fussy.
Trafton initially told authorities he put the baby in a bouncy seat, and when it didn't calm the baby down, he "bounced the seat at a harder pace than normal," which caused the baby's head to move side to side.
Authorities said during another interview, Trafton said he had actually put the baby on its back and lifted its legs to try to ease gas pain, which didn't work. The sheriff's office said he told them he became "increasingly frustrated" and started to move the baby's legs back and forth aggressively for two to three minutes until the baby's breathing became abnormal.
At that time, the sheriff's office said Trafton called the baby's mother, who called emergency services.
Trafton was arrested on Friday, Dec. 15.
