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Loma Linda father sentenced for abusing infant son who suffered ‘catastrophic brain injury’

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A Loma Linda man has been sentenced to 11 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty to abusing his 1-month-old son, causing the infant to fall into a coma.

San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Richard Peel on Wednesday sentenced Christian Tressa, 24, to six years for willful cruelty to a child and five years for great bodily injury of a child under 5 years old, court records show.

Tressa told authorities he was at the family’s Loma Linda home with his infant son and his 1-year-old son on Jan. 24, 2016, when the baby fell from a rocking bassinet that was sitting on top of an ottoman.

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The next morning, Tressa called the baby’s mother to come home. When she arrived, she noticed a bruise on the infant’s face and indicated she wanted to take him to the hospital. Tressa resisted taking the child for medical care until the afternoon, authorities said.

Doctors found the infant had a “catastrophic brain injury,” which caused him to fall into a coma. He also had multiple injuries that were inconsistent with a fall from a short distance, authorities said.

Tressa will serve his sentence at the California Institution for Men in Chino, according to court records.

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hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN

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