A White Bear Township man abused his 2-month-old son so badly that the infant could suffer permanent brain and eye damage, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday.
Anthony M. Longville, 29, was charged in Ramsey County District Court with one count of malicious punishment of a child for the January abuse of his son, who is now nearly 9 months old.
The boy suffered bruising and bleeding of the brain and "tearing in all layers of the eyes" that was consistent with blunt force trauma or shaking, the complaint said. He also was found to have several rib fractures that were two to four weeks old, and scratches on the mid-torso.
According to the complaint:
Longville's wife left home early Jan. 21 to go to the gym, leaving their son alone with Longville.
He told police that after his wife left, the baby started to cry and urinated through his diaper and onto his clothes. Longville took the baby to the nursery, pulled off his clothes and left him to get soap for a bath. When he returned, Longville said, the baby was gasping for breath, his face reddened and his arms flexed up.
Longville told police that he called his wife about 10:25 a.m. to report that the baby was having difficulty breathing and that he called 911 a minute later. He showed police a cellphone video he took of his son at 10:19 that morning. The baby "is playing and acting normal and happy," the complaint said.
Longville and his attorney later obtained an evaluation from Dr. Steven Gabaeff, who said that the brain bleeding was caused in utero or at birth, that the brain damage was the result of low oxygen levels from vaccinations and that the rib fractures were the result of rickets caused by low vitamin D levels, the complaint said.
