Jose Orta-Santana: Dad Punched Baby Boy, Causing Skull Fractures — ‘I Was Frustrated’

Jose Orta Santana is in jail today on $100,000 bail for abusing his infant son in New Market, New Hampshire. CBS-Boston is reporting now that 25-year old Jose Angel Orta Santana, of New Market, repeatedly punched his 3-month old baby boy because he was frustrated for having to keep the child while the mother worked. He also told investigators that he was sleep deprived.

The infant was rushed to the hospital originally on February 28, where Santana and the baby’s mother, Carissa Sarazin, said that he had sustained an injury due to a fall. According to the Union Leader, Orta-Santana told the hospital staff that she got an emergency call from Jose Orta Santana, telling her to get home at once because there was an issue with the child.

When she arrived at the home, she observed that her baby had swelling to the head. Jose Orta Santana lied to hospital officials when he told them that the baby had accidentally slipped through his hands an onto the floor.

Law enforcement officials say that when Jose Orta Santana knew that he was cornered, and that police were not buying his story, he confessed by telling the officers that he was sorry for hitting the infant.

“When asked what else he did to the child, Santana admitted that he would often become frustrated with the child because he would not stop crying. He also admitted to squeezing the baby’s legs and feet so tight that it caused boned fractures in those areas. In an interview with police, Jose Orta Santana can be heard stating: ‘I know, I hit him a few times and I’m sorry.’ “

Even law enforcement officials were shocked at the level of violence inflicted upon this innocent baby. Kevin Cyr, the Newmarket Police Chief, stated the following.

“This is probably the most serious child-abuse case that we’ve dealt with in a long time. I’ve been a police officer for 30 years and this has got to be in the top two or three that I’ve ever seen.”

Now, the 3-month old baby is lying in a coma at the Boston Children’s Hospital. Those close to Santana are horrified and cannot understand how he could hurt an innocent baby. A quick look at his Facebook page shows a man who seems to have a loving and caring relationship with his baby. Santana even joined the Facebook group Enough Is Enough, a group movement that is dedicated to stopping youth violence. No one could have guessed that he was brutally abusing his own son.

According to information presented in the study “The Batterer as Parent: Addressing the Impact of Domestic Violence on Family Dynamics,” some men who are prone to violence are easily frustrated with children and lash out quickly against children for the child’s imperfect behavior.

In the same study, they offer some clues about the kind of men who are prone to physically abusing their own children, such as undermining the mother’s abilities, neglecting the child — opting instead to spend time outside the home, and physically abusing the mother.

[Photo Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images]