Man admits battering 6-month-old baby

Minden, Nev. " A Gardnerville Ranchos man admitted Tuesday he hit his six-month-old son.

Alex Seeber, 19, faces up to 20 years in prison for child abuse or neglect causing substantial bodily harm.

"I struck my son in the head," Seeber told Judge Dave Gamble.

Gamble set a June 9 sentencing date for Seeber.

The judge told Seeber he was not eligible for probation unless it was determined he did not pose a high risk of reoffending.

Otherwise the minimum sentence is 24 months.

Prosecutors agreed not to seek more than 57-144 months at Seeber's sentencing.

Seeber is being held in Douglas County Jail on $25,000 bail.

Kayden Seeber was taken by helicopter to Renown Regional Medical Center on March 9 after Seeber slapped the baby because he was crying.

The infant underwent emergency neurosurgery to remove a 7 mm blood clot on his brain.

He suffered seizures and a stroke following the incident.

Officials said at a hearing last month that Kayden displayed injuries associated with shaken baby syndrome including broken ribs and retinal hemorrhaging. His grandmother, Melanie Brooks, said earlier that Kayden and his 17-year-old mother had moved to Las Vegas where they were living with the baby's great-grandmother.

"He's our miracle baby," Brooks said of Kayden. "He's doing very, very well."