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Tinley Park, IL — A Tinley Park dad is accused of viciously beating his 8-week-old son when the baby would not stop crying, prosecutors said in court Thursday.

Juan Contreras, 25, appeared before Cook County Judge Peter Felice on a charge of aggravated battery to a child.

According to the charges, the baby boy, born Jan. 25, 2016, was left in Contreras’s care in the family home in the 16400 block of Clark Lane, Tinley Park, while the baby’s mother attended school on March 23.

Just a few days before the infant was taken for a checkup with the family’s pediatrician, who noted that the child was in good health and showed no signs of injury, the prosecutor said.
Before the mother went to school, she told Contreras to feed the baby. When the baby would not stop crying, the prosecutor said Contreras squeezed the baby around his waist, bruising his sides.

Contreras is accused of grabbing the baby and throwing him on a bed. The prosecutor said the baby bounced off the bed and hit the hardwood floor. The father is then alleged to have picked the baby up by his arm and thrown him back on the bed.

The prosecutor said Contreras brought the child downstairs. When the mother came home, she noticed the infant was pale and his breathing slow and labored.

She brought the baby to Ingalls Hospital in Harvey. On the way to the hospital, the mother said she could hear the baby’s ribs popping, according to the charges.

The infant was eventually transferred to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

Doctors said the baby showed injuries consistent with squeezing, sustaining a hard fall, and being grabbed by the arms and legs, the criminal complaint said.

The baby boy suffered five broken ribs, bruising to his liver, a fractured shoulder, and fractures to both legs above the knees, the prosecutor said.

Contreras was arrested on March 30.

The assistant public defender told the judge that Contreras is unemployed and attended his senior year at Tinley Park High School.

Contreras has no prior criminal background. The prosecutor asked for special conditions of bond. Contreras is to have no contact with the mother, baby and the couple’s 4-year-old twins. The mother is also seeking an order of protection.

Judge Felice set bail at $50,000.

“I’m telling you, if you bond out, do not violate the court order of protection,” the judge said. “Do not text or call or go near the house. If you need to get your personal belongings, you contact the Tinley Park Police Department.”

Contreras is due back in court April 26 in Bridgeview.

Source: The Patch