MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A 29-year-old Farmington man has been accused of violently shaking a 5-month-old child in late January, according to the Dakota County Attorney’s Office.
Thomas Patrick Anderson faces two felony counts of malicious punishment of a child in connection to the alleged incident.
According to the criminal complaint, Farmington Police were dispatched to a hospital on Feb. 11 to investigate the possible abuse of a 5-month-old child. Police learned the child was brought to the hospital on Jan. 31 for vomiting and dehydration and remained there until Feb. 3.
The child’s mother told police the baby continued to experience episodes of lethargy and vomiting, so the child received additional medical evaluation. After discovering fluid and bleeding in the brain, a doctor found the child had likely experienced non-accidental abusive trauma.
After placing a shunt in the child’s brain to drain some of the fluid, the child went into the intensive care unit.
Police then talked to Anderson, the child’s father who watched the boy while the mother was working. He told police that on Jan. 29 the child rolled off the couch while he was watching him. When police challenged his story, Anderson eventually admitted to shaking the child because he was frustrated with him crying too much.
If convicted, Anderson could face up to five years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine for each charge.
