SUNBURY - A 23-year-old Milton man charged with causing severe injuries to his infant son by allegedly throwing him onto a bed and couch earlier this year has been ordered to spend 16 months to seven years in state prison.
Rasheen Jamal Eleby, of 48 Filbert St., was sentenced Monday by Northumberland County Judge Charles Saylor on one felony count of endangering the welfare of children. The standard sentencing range for the offense is 9 to 16 months.
Eleby was charged by Milton Patrolman Daniel Embeck II and Point Township Patrolman Nathan Fisher with six counts each of endangering the welfare of children and misdemeanors of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person in connection with offenses that occurred between April 15 and June 30 at his home and 1280 Queen St., Point Township.
The additional charges were not prosecuted at sentencing.
Old and new injuries
According to a criminal complaint, police were summoned at 9:32 a.m. June 30 to 48 Filbert St. for a report of a 3-month-old fall victim made by the boy's parents, Eleby and Kristi Bender, 20. Police said it was reported that the boy fell from Eleby's lap to the floor, but when medics checked the victim, they discovered no injuries. Eleby and Bender transported the baby to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville to be evaluated.
On July 1, Milton police received a report of suspected child abuse from Northumberland County Children and Youth Services, which indicated the baby was evaluated at Geisinger, where several old and new injuries were discovered. The injuries included broken blood vessels around his brain that were weeks to months old, bleeding around the brain and in the brain tissue that were less than a week old, bleeding in multiple layers of the retina in the right eye that was one day to two weeks old, a broken scapula on the left side that was clean through and in the process of healing and was approximately 10 to 21 days old, and soft tissue swelling on the back left side of the head.
A doctor at Geisinger said most of the injuries were consistent with the baby being violently shaken, or thrown or struck against something hard. The soft tissue swelling on the back of the child's head was consistent with blunt force trauma to the head. The doctor said the baby's reported fall from his father's lap onto a carpeted floor would not be enough to cause the injuries.
On July 1, Eleby told police that he became very angry with the baby on June 26 because the infant wouldn't stop crying. Eleby said he then picked up the baby from his crib and threw him approximately four feet onto a bed. He said the infant bounced approximately five inches into the air after hitting the bed. He said the baby continued to cry for a short time before whimpering.
Eleby told police the bed contained books, phones and remote control devices.
During a July 5 interview with Trooper Ken Davis of the Pennsylvania State Police, Eleby admitted throwing the baby five times onto a bed and once onto a couch when he was 2 months old because the infant wouldn't stop crying. He also said he dropped the baby approximately three feet onto a "bouncy chair," where he landed on his back and head. Eleby said he slapped the baby's bare rear end three times on another occasion.
Bender admitted seeing Eleby throw the baby down onto the couch with force on two occasions at 1280 Queen St., Point Township, where the couple lived prior to moving to Milton on June 20.