Peabody Father Gets Prison For Shaking, Head-butting 7-Week-Old Daughter

A Peabody father and veteran is vowing to "become a good father and a good man" after being sentenced to prison for injuring his own infant daughter.

Richard Elias will spend 3-4 years behind bars as part of a plea agreement, reports the Salem News. He shook his 7-week-old daughter and banged her head against a table in one diaper-changing incident. Two weeks later he shook her again and head-butted her in frustration over her fussiness.

His sentence could have been as much as 30 years in prison, but prosecutors recommended less because he has accepted responsibility and because Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from his wartime service in Iraq may have contributed to the incidents.

For much more on this story, including the condition of the baby and the life-long complications she may face, please read the entire story at the Salem News.