Fresno father sentenced for shaking, causing massive brain injury to 1-month-old son

A Fresno father was given a life sentence in court Wednesday for nearly killing his 1-month-old son in a case of abusive head trauma — or Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Nathan Celis, 24, was convicted by a Fresno County Superior County jury last month for causing injuries to the child that included broken ribs and head trauma — which prosecutors said could only have come from the hands of another person.

Celis will have to serve three years in prison on a domestic violence charge before he formally begins serving his life sentence, which includes eligibility for parole after seven years.

The child, also named Nathan, was in a comatose state after being severely injured by his father, said Deputy District Attorney Amy Cobb.

Celis was charged for the incident on Sept. 4. 2019, and was accused of assault on a child under 8 resulting in a comatose state and child abuse and endangerment.

Celis claimed he came home from his job as a security guard sometime in the morning as Baby Nathan’s mother left a few minutes later to run errands.

A few hours later, the baby’s mother returned and found the child in his bassinet, unresponsive. Emergency medical help was called.

Prosecutor Cobb said it was later revealed Celis had been trying to put the baby to sleep for at least an hour and a half.

Cobb said the baby had at least a dozen broken ribs, and sign of blunt force trauma to the head and chest. The child is now nearly 2 years old and doing fairly well, Cobb said. It remains to be seen if his brain injuries may cause some developmental delays.

This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 2:45 PM.