13 WTHRFather arrested for child abuse

Father arrested for child abuse

Steve Jefferson/Eyewitness News

Indianapolis - An Indianapolis father is the target of a shaken baby syndrome investigation involving his four-month-old boy. Metro Police say they arrested Elvin S. Cabrera about his injured son after he couldn't get his story straight.

Cabrera's infant son, also named Elvin, is on a ventilator. Doctors took him off the ventilator to see if he could breathe on his own, but police say doctors are not optimistic about the baby's recovery.

Metro Police arrested Cabrera, 21, because of his son's severe injuries. Elvin Cabrera faces a preliminary aggravated battery charge.

"The doctors have basically said that the child has severe brain trauma," said Lt. Jeff Duhamell, IMPD.

Last Friday, four-month-old Elvin Cabrera's mother called 911. The dispatcher learned about the baby's injury through a 911 Spanish interpreter.

By the time police arrived at the couple's apartment near 39th and Post Road, Cabrera had already taken his son to the hospital himself. That's where doctors alerted authorities about the baby's injuries.

"There was a lot of hemorrhaging behind the eyes and sometimes that is indicative of the shaken baby type injury," said Lt. Duhamell.

There are other definite signs of shaken baby syndrome that doctors are trained to look for in injured babies.

Detectives say while talking to Cabrera about what happened to his son at the east side apartment, he changed his story several times.

"Some of the stories that he has been saying is the child fell out of his seat, things of that nature," said Lt. Duhamell.

Late Tuesday night, child abuse detectives arrested the 21-year-old father for aggravated battery.

"These are preliminary charges that are going to be screen by the prosecutor," said Duhamell.

Those charges could get worse if Cabrera's son doesn't get any better.

The four-month-old remains in critical condition at Riley Hospital. His father goes to court Thursday morning. Channel 13 has also learned there is an immigration federal hold on the 21-year-old.

Soledad Hernández-Aguilar, Cabrera's mother, issued the following statement:

"I am asking with all my heart that the privacy of my family be respected during this difficult time."