CLEARFIELD – When a Clearfield man appeared in Clearfield County Court Monday, he admitted he was a “coward” for not admitting he had shaken and thrown his 7-month old son when the child became ill.
The affidavit details how Timothy Justin Seagraves, 23, told investigators in April that he was “frustrated” because the baby would not stop fussing on March 14.
He admitted he shook him, watching his head go back and forth as he yelled at him to “shut the [expletive] up”. He then forcibly threw the child into a basinet, according to the criminal complaint.
The baby became sick, was vomiting later that day. On March 15, the baby was sick and the mother was told he had a GI bug after she took him to a clinic, according to the report.
After a weekend of not eating and vomiting, the mother took him on March 18 to Penn Highlands DuBois where it was discovered the baby was suffering from a brain bleed.
He was then sent to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh where they determined he was suffering from shaken baby syndrome.
During sentencing court, the child’s mother told Judge Paul Cherry that Seagraves never showed any remorse. As they tried to determine why the child was sick, he did “not once come forward to say he did something.”
The baby’s grandmother also spoke saying he hasn’t apologized for almost killing the boy who that no matter how he was suffering always gave her a smile.
Joe Ryan, attorney for Seagraves explained with the case pending, Seagraves was not able to apologize but he is very remorseful.
He called this “a case where a young parent failed in his duties.” He went on to state Seagraves will voluntarily terminate his parental rights because he wants the child to have his best chance at life.
Seagraves also addressed the court saying he sits in his jail cell crying and thinking about “how horrible this is.” He then admitted he was a coward for not coming forward sooner.
Cherry referred to the crime as “a terrible, despicable act” adding that Seagraves needed in-depth treatment. He went on to comment that fortunately the child was improving but noted things could have been much worse for the baby.
Cherry sentenced Seagraves to three to six years in state prison for two felony counts of aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person. He must complete a nurturing program and was ordered to have no contact with the victim.
