Ceres baby in critical condition after alleged abuse, stepfather arrested
A Ceres man has been arrested on suspicion of throwing a 7-month-old baby against a wall after the child was hospitalized with multiple broken bones.
Ceres Police were alerted to the baby boy’s injuries after he was taken by ambulance to Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera late Monday night, said Sgt. Greg Yotsuya.
The baby’s mother and stepfather, 29-year-old Ezequiel Valenzuela, started driving the child to the hospital around 11:20 p.m. then called 911 and were told by a dispatcher to pull over and wait for an ambulance.
The baby was taken by ambulance to Madera where he was found to have multiple broken bones in various stages of healing, Yotsuya said.
Ceres Police detectives began investigating the case and learned Valenzuela had been alone with the baby and his 3-year-old sister when the incident occurred.
Valenzuela told detectives he’d dropped the baby but when they interviewed the 3-year-old she indicated he’d thrown the child against a wall, Yotsuya said.
Yotsuya said injuries to the child in different stages of healing indicates past abuse.
Valenzuela was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of willful cruelty to a child and inflicting injury on a child resulting in a traumatic condition. He had not been formally charged as of Friday afternoon.
The baby is in critical but stable condition, Yotsuya said.
Child Protective Services took custody of the 3-year-old. Yotsuya said CPS had not had prior contact with the family.
This story was originally published November 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
