Modesto father broke infant’s arm because baby wouldn’t stop crying, prosecutors say

A 23-year-old Modesto father has been convicted of child abuse for breaking the arm of his infant child when the baby wouldn’t stop crying, according to prosecutors.

Elijah James Mason on Dec. 6 pleaded no contest to permitting a child to suffer under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death, the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday in a news release.

Judge Douglas Mewhinney sentenced Mason to six years in prison for the felony offense. The judge also ordered Mason to stay away from his child for the next 10 years, according to prosecutors.

Authorities launched an investigation on Feb. 6, 2018, when police were called to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto. The officers showed up to investigate how the 4-month-old child had suffered a broken arm.

The Modesto police officers learned that Mason, the child’s father, had been left at his home alone with the baby. Prosecutors said Mason admitted that he broke the infant’s arm, because he was frustrated the baby wouldn’t stop crying.

A preliminary hearing to determine whether was there enough evidence for Mason to stand trial had been scheduled to start Dec. 6, but the hearing was canceled after Mason pleaded no contest to the child abuse charge. Deputy District Attorney Sameer Shukla prosecuted the case.

On Tuesday, Mason remained in custody at the Stanislaus County Jail awaiting transfer to a state prison facility.

This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 12:31 PM.