Fresno father charged in court, accused of causing brain injury to 1-month-old son
Fresno County prosecutors say Baby Nathan was just 1 month old his father Nathan Henry Celis injured him so severely, the child suffered broken ribs and abusive head trauma.
The 23-year-old Celis appeared in court Friday and pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of child abuse, including assault on a child under 8 resulting in a comatose state — a crime punishable by life in prison, if he’s found guilty. The baby, now 15-months old, was injured in early September, 2019.
Celis, who was working as a security guard, is also facing two domestic violence charges for an incident in June involving the child’s mother.
His attorney Antonio Alvarez said his client, “absolutely denies shaking or being rough with the baby.”
Alvarez said it is not known how the baby suffered the severe injuries. Celis told him he came home sometime in the morning after working a graveyard shift. The baby’s mother, who shared a home with him, left a few minutes later to run errands.
Alvarez said Celis played his video game for a while, ate some food and then took a nap while the baby was also napping. A few hours later, the baby’s mother returned and found the baby unresponsive in his bassinet.
Rescue personal were called and the baby was taken to the hospital where he was treated for an extensive period of time.
Prosecutor Amy Cobb, however, believes Celis is to blame for what happened to the baby, whose brain injury could potentially be permanent. A review of his medical condition and prognosis will be part of the trial.
“This case, and others like it, should be taken extremely seriously as they deal with unjustifiable abuse causing grave injuries to the most vulnerable members of our community — infants and young children who are entirely dependent on the adults in their lives and are incapable of protecting themselves from this type of violence,” Cobb said.
Celis was taken into custody Friday in Judge James Kelley’s courtroom. His bail is set at $650,000 for the child abuse charges and $40,000 for the domestic violence charges.
His next court appearance is Nov. 6 for a pre-preliminary hearing in Dept. 32.
