PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Samuel Dominick Phelps will spend the next 13 years in prison for intentionally dropping his infant on his head and throwing the child into a chair.
At the time of the injury, the child was 5 weeks old, according to Portland Police. The case was investigated by the Portland Police Bureau’s Child Abuse Team.
Officials confirmed that the incident happened at Phelps’ residence in August 2016. The infant was treated at OHSU for injuries that included a skull fracture and bruising.
Phelps told investigators several different stories about how the child was injured. At first, he denied doing anything wrong.
He eventually told detectives that he dropped the child in the bathroom and shook him hard enough that it could have caused brain bleeds.
Phelps admitted that he was angry with the infant crying and he dropped the boy onto the bathtub on purpose and “throwing him into his swing forcefully.” Phelps told police that the baby’s “head struck a metal bar.”
A grand jury handed up charges of first-degree assault and criminal mischief.
In August 2017, Phelps pled guilty to one count of first-degree assault. When he is released from prison, he will have to serve 80 month of post-prison supervision.
Phelps’ criminal record includes convictions for ID theft, failing to register as a sex offender and first-degree sexual abuse.
Filed under: Crime, Oregon, Portland
