Long Island infant required emergency surgery after abuse from dad: DA
A 31-year-old Suffolk County father allegedly abused his infant son to the point the baby required life-saving emergency brain surgery.
Vincent DiStasi, of South Setauket, was arraigned last week on charges he repeatedly abused his 5-week-old child. He’s due back in court on May 23.
Prosecutors said the boy was “brutally assaulted” throughout his short life until finally being shaken so hard he suffered a traumatic brain injury that left Stony Brook University Hospital doctors believing the infant might not live.
The Nassau County District Attorney’s office, which was designated as special prosecutor on the case, alleges doorbell footage from the suspect’s home shows the defendant tossing, punching, smacking and smothering the child for over a month prior to the January 21 beating that led to the unresponsive baby being rushed to a Long Island emergency room.
A press release announcing Distasi’s indictment last week said doctors there discovered the child had suffered from multiple injuries, including fractured ribs and arms and a subdural hematoma to his brain.
DiStasi was arrested outside Stony Brook University Hospital on Jan. 29. He pleaded not guilty to assault in the first degree, reckless assault of a child and endangering the welfare of a child.
“The defendant’s alleged actions made his son’s first weeks in this world a violent nightmare and we will hold him accountable,” District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said in a statement.
DiStasi faces a maximum prison sentence of 25 years. News 12 said the defendant posted $300,000 cash bail while awaiting trial.
