Calif. Baby Had 16 Broken Bones, Mom Accused of Breaking Them 'into Tiny Pieces' Because He Cried

At five weeks old, baby Esteban was rescued “from the living hell he was born into,” says Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer

When the 5-week old baby boy was brought to the California hospital, he could not move his left arm.

Baby Esteban’s skull was fractured — one of the 16 bones in his body that Orange County prosecutors say his mother broke after “repeatedly beating her 5-week old baby” because he would not stop crying.

The infant also had broken ribs and a fractured knee, elbow and finger.

His mother, Mirian Jimenez-Olivera, 34, is charged with 11 felony counts of child abuse.

His father, Edgar Busto-Rodriguez, 35, is charged with one felony count of accessory after the fact after allegedly “trying to cover up his wife’s abuse of their son” by “lying to police about how his infant son was injured,” per prosecutors.

“A mother’s arms should be the safest place for a newborn, fiercely protecting him from the world,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. “But for little Esteban his mother’s arms were the weapons of violence which helped systematically break his little bones into tiny pieces because he wouldn’t stop doing what every newborn does: cry.”

The parents, of Santa Ana, Calif., have both pleaded not guilty to the charges.

PEOPLE contacted Jennifer Soares, a public defender representing the mother, as well as Kathleen Nordin, a public defender representing the father. Neither immediately responded to a request for comment.

Prosecutors allege that Jimenez-Olivera had been “assaulting her baby since he was 2 weeks old.”

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage, and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

On “multiple occasions,” prosecutors say, the mother responded to her newborn’s tears by “punching” him “in the ribs, shoulder, and arms.” She is also accused of “roughly pulling his leg when she changed him.”

Then, on May 13, the 5-week-old baby was brought to Children’s Hospital of Orange County. He was so battered, prosecutors say he could not move his arm.

“No child should be brought into this world and be subjected to unimaginable pain – and then be left to suffer in silence, not knowing when the next time his mother would lash out in anger and break another rib or snap another bone,” Spitzer said in the statement.

Spitzer credited the “miracle” hospital workers “who rescued this defenseless baby from the living hell he was born into.”

If convicted of all counts, the mother faces a maximum of 42 years in state prison. The father faces up to three years behind bars.

Esteban’s parents are each held in custody on bonds of $1 million.

The prosecutor’s office tells PEOPLE that the couple’s pre-trial hearing is set for Thursday, May 23 at 8:30 a.m.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.