Teen charged with assaulting two-month-old son

A 17-year-old who police say shook his 2-month-old son so severely that the child was hospitalized with head and chest injuries was charged today with second-degree assault.

The teen, who is not being named because his case is being handled in juvenile court, was arrested on Monday. Police were called to the child's mother's house, where the 17-year-old was caring for the child, after someone reported the infant wasn't breathing and didn't have a pulse, according to charging papers filed in King County Superior Court.

The baby was taken to Seattle Children's Hospital, where doctors determined that he had serious brain bleeding, a broken collarbone and 10 to 15 broken ribs, court papers said. Some of the fractures appeared to be older injuries that were beginning to heal, court papers said.

Doctors could also tell that the child had suffered a prior instance of brain bleeding, court papers said.

The child's 18-year-old mother told police that the child's father spent the night at her house on Saturday and was taking care of the child when she left for work on Sunday morning. The 17-year-old said that the child awoke crying and "fell limp" around 10:20 a.m. The teen said that he then notified the child's grandmother that the infant wasn't breathing, court papers said.

Police say that the teen violently shook the baby because he wouldn't stop crying, charging papers said.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com