A West Salem man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for shaking his infant son so severely the child was hospitalized and required skull surgery.
Brian Patten, 37, was arrested in 2018 on two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment after his then-8-month-old son was admitted to the
Oregon Health & Science University hospital for infantile spasms.
Bilateral subdural hematomas and retinal hemorrhages in both eyes were discovered following an MRI.
A doctor, suspecting the baby may have been abused, reported the injuries to police.
According to a probable cause statement by the
Salem Police Department, the doctor described the injuries as being "consistent with inflicted trauma resulting from accelerating/decelerating movements" — a condition commonly known as shaken baby syndrome.
The infant's injuries required him to undergo skull surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. He was later diagnosed with an epileptic disease called West syndrome, which typically results in death by age 5, according to the police report.
The doctor was unable to determine whether the suspected trauma caused the West syndrome.
More than a year later, the boy remains in the custody of the
Oregon Department of Human Services. His mother, Jessica Patten, said the toddler is under the care of a physical therapist and is working to hold his head upright and is gaining strength.
Brian and Jessica Petten lived in West Salem with their young daughter and son when the baby began having infantile spasms.
At the hospital, Patten denied injuring his son. Patten and his wife also denied any accidental trauma and said they believed their son's premature birth at 32 weeks caused the injuries.
During a second interview at the police department, Brian Patten admitted to shaking the infant twice.
Four months before the hospitalization, Patten said he woke up around 3 a.m. to his son's crying.
Tired and frustrated, Patten grabbed his son's torso and shook him aggressively, he told police.
He demonstrated using a doll.
While shaking the baby, he said his son's eyes "rolled back into his head" then his body stiffened.
Patten told police it "felt wrong." He considered taking his son to the doctor but feared being questioned about the shaking.
Three months later, he was awakened by his son again at 3 a.m. He told police he again grabbed the baby until his breathing was labored and his eyes rolled back. Patten carried him down the hall while not supporting his head, describing the effected as being "whiplashed."
The West syndrome spasms began after the two shaking incidents.
The doctor, a child abuse specialist, confirmed the injuries were consistent with the actions that Patten described.
