Man sentenced to 8 years in prison for abuse of infant son

BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- A Washington state man convicted of critically injuring his infant son has been sentenced to eight years in prison with three years of probation.

The Bellingham Herald reports that 26-year-old Evaristo Mendez was sentenced after being found guilty by a jury March 22 of first-degree assault of a child.

A social worker from Seattle Children's Hospital called Ferndale police in January 2017 to report that Mendez's 5-month-old son had several serious medical conditions, including a collection of blood outside his brain and bleeding in both eyes.

The doctor told police all underlying medical conditions were ruled out and the incident was deemed a non-accidental trauma.

Mendez acknowledged that he pushed his child "harder than he meant to" when the boy was in a bouncy seat. He told police his son hit his head multiple times.