AG: Jury finds Johnston man guilty of physically abusing 4-month-old son in 2017

Sun Rise Staff Reports
Posted 1/12/23

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced Thursday morning that a Johnston man has been found guilty in Providence County Superior Court of physically abusing his four-month-old son in …

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AG: Jury finds Johnston man guilty of physically abusing 4-month-old son in 2017

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Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced Thursday morning that a Johnston man has been found guilty in Providence County Superior Court of physically abusing his four-month-old son in 2017, according to a press release from his office.

On Jan. 11, following the conclusion of a five-day jury trial before Superior Court Justice Daniel A. Procaccini, the jury found Jean Diaz De La Rosa, 27, of Johnston, guilty of two counts of first-degree child abuse, according to Neronha’s office.

De La Rosa is expected to be sentenced at a later date in Providence Superior Court.

“This Office prosecutes thousands of cases every year, and yet there are some that still leave one searching for words,” Neronha said. “We talk often about protecting our state’s most vulnerable residents. Are there any more vulnerable than a four-month-old child? A child who should have been loved, and cared for, especially by his parent. Yet this child was abused by that parent, physically, severely, repeatedly. Justice has arrived yesterday, and deservedly so. I am enormously grateful to the jury for its guilty verdict and look forward to sentencing in this case. The Hasbro Children’s Hospital staff, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families and the Johnston Police Department all did fine work here, and I am grateful to them as well.”

According to the press release, at trial, the prosecution “proved beyond a reasonable doubt that in February 2017, the defendant physically abused his four-month-old son, causing multiple serious injuries.”

“On Feb. 13, 2017, members of the Johnston Police Department responded to a report of suspect child abuse following an evaluation of the defendant’s son at Hasbro Children’s Hospital,” according to the press release. “Following their evaluation, medical personnel at the hospital determined that the defendant’s four-month-old son suffered from seven fractures in both of his legs including a significant fracture to the child's left hip and right tibia, and three additional fractures in his shoulders. Doctors at the Aubin Child Protection Center at Hasbro found that the 10 fractures were indicative of child abuse and that two or more traumatic incidents occurred.”

Hospital staff also alerted the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) of suspected child abuse, and the infant was subsequently placed into DCYF care, according to the AG’s office.

 “Cases involving the physical abuse of children are some of the most heartbreaking that the men and women of the Johnston Police Department investigate,” said Johnston Police Chief Mark Vieira. “Our thoughts are with the victim and his family at this time, and hope that this verdict can bring a sense of justice to them, following an incredibly traumatic experience.”

Special Assistant Attorneys General Jonathan Burke and Meagan Thomson and Johnston Police Detectives Brian Loffredi (retired), Christopher DeCesare (retired), and Michael Edwards of the Johnston Police Department led the investigation and prosecution of the case.

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