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WEST JORDAN — A father has been charged with abusing his infant child, causing a brain injury.
Cobin Eugene Thomas, 21, of West Jordan, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with child abuse, a second-degree felony, and three counts of child abuse, a class A misdemeanor.
In February, Thomas claimed he dropped his son, who was 1-month-old at the time, causing bruising, according to charging documents.
In March, Thomas’ wife noticed bruising on the child’s stomach. Thomas suggested it may have been caused by a seat belt being too tight, the charges state. While the wife ran an errand, Thomas said the infant started turning blue and his eyes were rolling into his head.
At the hospital, doctors found bruising by the boy’s mouth, which Thomas said may have been caused by putting a bottle into the infant’s mouth “too forcefully even after people told him to stop,” the charges state.
When informed that the baby also had a brain injury, Thomas said he may have caused it by “jostling” his son, according to the charges.
A doctor at Primary Children’s Hospital told investigators that “when considered together with the subsequent injuries, that bruising is indicative of nonaccidental trauma.” The doctor also found “multiple serious subdural hemorrhages and retinal hemorrhages, and some injuries to the brain itself,” the charges state. “The brain injuries indicate the application of a significant amount of force.”
The doctor concluded that the infant’s injuries “cannot be plausibly explained by accidental injury” and is indicative of “inflicted trauma,” according to charging documents.
