Father Charged With Child Abuse When 1-Month-Old Boy Suffers Severe Head Trauma
LOMA LINDA (CBSLA.com) — Authorities have arrested a Loma Linda man on suspicion of felony child abuse.
Officials said on Monday, January 25, around 5 p.m., deputies from the Central Station/Loma Linda Sheriff's Station responded to Loma Linda University Children's Hospital to investigate an immediate response CPS referral involving a 1-month-old boy with a severe head injury.
Central station detectives initiated an investigation involving the victim's biological father, 23-year-old Christian Tressa and the victim's mother.
Tressa was reportedly home alone with the victim and another son, a 1-year-old. Tressa said the victim allegedly fell from a rocking bassinet, which was on top of an ottoman. The next morning, the victim has a visible bruise on his face. When the boy's mother arrived home -- the 11100 block of San Mateo Drive -- she wanted to take the victim to the hospital but Tressa talked her out of it. Authorities said they finally took the boy to Loma Linda University Children's Hospital in the late afternoon and the victim was found to have a catastrophic brain injury. The boy fell into a coma.
Doctors later told police the victim's severe, multiple injuries were inconsistent with a fall from a short distance.
A coordinated investigation involving Central Station personnel and detectives from the Specialized Investigations Division - Crimes Against Children Detail, led to the arrest of the victim's father.
Tressa was booked into the Central Detention Center for felony child abuse involving great bodily injury resulting in a comatose state. His bail is set at $500,000.
