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Haverhill man charged with injuring baby daughter

E-mail|Link|Comments () November 10, 2009 07:13 PM

By Michaela Stanelun, Globe Correspondent

A teenage father from Haverhill is facing a charge that he shook his baby daughter so hard he severely injured her, Essex County prosecutors said.

Ivan Rosario, 18, was ordered held without bail at his arraignment today at Haverhill District Court on a charge of assault and battery on a child causing substantial bodily injury.

Rosario allegedly shook his daughter Sunday afternoon at the apartment he shared with the baby, the baby's mother, and other family members.

The mother, who was making a bottle for the baby in another room when the shaking occurred, called 911 at about 3:30 p.m after the baby's eyes rolled toward the back of her head and she had trouble breathing, prosecutors said.

The baby was taken to Lawrence General Hospital and then transferred to New England Medical Center in Boston. Her injuries are "very serious," said Essex district attorney's spokesman Steve O'Connell.

If convicted, Rosario could face the maximum penalty for assault and battery on a child causing substantial bodily injury, which is 15 years in state prison or 2 1/2 years in jail, prosecutors said.

Haverhill District Court Judge Patricia Dowling scheduled a Nov. 18 dangerousness hearing.