A California mother has been arrested for allegedly beating her infant repeatedly, leaving the 5-week-old baby with 16 broken bones including a fractured skull, and the father has been charged as an accessory, authorities said.
Mirian Jimenez-Olivera, 34, was charged with 11 felony counts of child abuse, and Edgar Busto-Rodriguez, 35, was charged with one felony count of accessory after the fact, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
On May 13, the baby, named Esteban, was brought to the Children's Hospital of Orange County because he was unable to move his left arm. Physicians discovered the 5-week-old had 16 broken bones, including a fractured skull, a fractured knee, a fractured elbow, a fractured arm, a broken finger, and broken ribs in two locations, according to the DA's office.
Jimenez-Olivera is accused of assaulting Esteban starting at just two weeks old. She allegedly "punched" the baby when he cried, striking him in various locations on his body on multiple occasions. She also allegedly "roughly" pulled his leg when she changed him.
Busto-Rodriguez is accused of lying to police about how his son was injured in order to cover up the abuse.
"A mother's arms should be the safest place for a newborn, fiercely protecting him from the world, but for little Esteban his mother's arms were the weapons of violence which helped systematically break his little bones into tiny pieces because he wouldn't stop doing what every newborn does - cry," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.
"No child should be brought into this world and be subjected to unimaginable pain - and then be left to suffer in silence, not knowing when the next time his mother would lash out in anger and break another rib or snap another bone," Spitzer said. "We are so grateful to the miracle workers at CHOC who rescued this defenseless baby from the living hell he was born into."
Jimenez-Olivera faces a maximum sentence of 42 years in state prison if convicted on all counts. Busto-Rodriguez faces a maximum of three years in prison. Both parents pleaded not guilty to the charges. They remain jailed on $1 million bond each.
-- with reporting by TMX
