Officials probe seventh shaken baby allegation

An investigation into the baby's condition is focusing on a Webster day-care provider, who cared for the 3-month-old all day Tuesday, as well as the boy's parents, who live in the same town with two older children, according to the state Department of Social Services.

As of last night, authorities have allowed the day-care site to remain open, and the parents, who have no history of suspected child abuse or neglect, have custody of their other children.

Until further investigation into the injuries of the child, who is at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, authorities are declining to release the names of the child, the parents, and the day-care provider.

Worcester lawyer Anthony Salerno confirmed yesterday that his client, Kerri Suprenant, is the Webster day-care provider who has been questioned in connection with the case. Suprenant, who cares for six children out of her home, noticed the baby had been "uncomfortable" during the day, and had a "bump" on his body, Salerno said. She was in regular contact with the baby's mother during the day with updates, and said she had no role in harming the child.

"She has an impeccable record," said Salerno.

In a hastily arranged press conference yesterday, Harry Spence, the commissioner of the state Department of Social Services, described what he sees as a disturbing number of "shaken baby syndrome" cases, in which caretakers handle infants or small children so violently, often out of frustration, that they cause life-threatening injuries.

Since April, Spence said, seven Massachusetts children have been victims, including a Brockton infant whose 21-year-old father stands accused of shaking him in a violent rage.

"This is occurring with a frequency that is alarming," said Spence, who called for new statewide initiatives to educate parents and caretakers about the safe handling of babies.

In April, 16-month-old Christian Sepulveda died after being violently shaken, allegedly by his mother's boyfriend. And in August, Ann Power, who was operating an unlicensed day-care site in Reading, was charged with murder in connection with the shaken-baby death of a 3-month-old.

Yesterday, DSS said the Webster infant spent most of Tuesday in day care. Salerno said Suprenant noticed the baby "was in some discomfort" and called the mother several times to update her on the baby's condition. His client "had sole care of the baby" on Tuesday, with no other adult involved in helping her, Salerno said.

The child was picked up by the mother around dinnertime, and the two women talked by phone later in the evening about how the infant was doing, Salerno said.

Through much of Tuesday night, the baby was apparently with his father and two siblings, said DSS spokeswoman Denise Monteiro. The mother was away during much of the evening, though she was the one who ultimately brought the baby to the emergency room at UMass Memorial sometime during the night.

Around 11 p.m. Tuesday, DSS received a call from the hospital reporting a baby who was the victim of suspected physical abuse and who had severe internal injuries, as well as signs of blunt trauma to the head.

Since then, the Webster police, State Police, and the Worcester district attorney's office have become involved in the investigation.

Monteiro said DSS has no record of complaints filed against the baby's parents. The mother, age 37, and the father, 52, have two school-age children, she said.

Constantia Papanikolaou, a lawyer with the state Office of Child Care Services, which licenses day-care providers, said the baby's day-care provider called her office yesterday morning to say that a parent had reported a bump on their son's head.

Papanikolaou declined to identify the provider, but said the woman told investigators nothing unusual happened all day, though the baby was "a little cranky and a little congested."

Licensed for more than a decade, the provider has never been the subject of any complaints from parents, Papanikolaou said,

Jared Stearns contributed to this report. Patricia Wen can be reached at wen@globe.com.