Despite his continued denials and a no-contest plea to the charge, Danny Maxfield Jr. was sent to prison Tuesday for injuring his infant son.
"It's difficult for me to imagine sending someone to prison if I didn't believe they committed the offense. I do believe you committed the offense," said Judge Jim Wilson in sentencing Maxfield, 33, to a maximum of 28 to 72 months in prison on a charge of child abuse with substantial bodily harm.
Maxfield was arrested in April 2009 after he took his then 2-month-old son to the emergency room when the boy coughed up blood.
X-rays revealed the child had a broken arm, leg, ribs and skull fractures in various stages of healing, according to court documents.
In interviews with detectives Maxfield initially denied he had done anything, then eventually admitted he had lifted the baby by one arm from the crib.
"He said it wasn't his night to watch the child and he tried to wake the mother but couldn't. So he just got aggravated, grabbed the baby by one arm and lifted him to eye level," said Detective Dave Le Gros upon Maxfield's arrest.
Deputy Public Defender Stephanie Travis said Maxfield only made statements of guilt to investigators after he was told if he didn't admit wrongdoing the child would be removed from the home. She alluded to the possibility that the child's mother, Jessica Tully, could be responsible for the baby's injuries.
"I shouldn't have said what I said. I would never hurt my kid," said Maxfield.
Lori Jackson of the Division of Child and Family Services said she was the investigator at the time of the incident and for weeks after Maxfield's arrest. Jackson said she never saw anything while the baby was in his mother's care to indicate Tully was responsible for the child's injuries.
Assistant District Attorney Gerald Gardner noted Maxfield has four felonies, three gross misdemeanors and 12 misdemeanor offenses. While the bulk of the charges are related to theft and drugs, Maxfield also has a convictions for domestic abuse, escape and brandishing a weapon, Gardner said.
"He's dangerous to the community, he's a danger to other people ... and he absolutely deserves to go to prison in this case," said Gardner.
