"Toddler John Doe" - 4 yo - Antioch (W of Stockton) CA

A 28-year-old man was arrested
Wednesday on suspicion of seriously injuring his girlfriend's
4-year-old son in Antioch a week ago, police said Friday.
Aaron Handy had been watching the boy at his girlfriend's home on
Peppertree Way on Aug. 20. When the boy's mother came home, she found
the child unresponsive. According to Antioch police, Handy
allegedly tried to convince the mother not to call 911 for her child
and then fled her home.
The boy was flown by helicopter to a hospital to be treated for a traumatic brain injury.
Doctors put him in a medically induced coma and removed a portion of
his skull to alleviate swelling in the brain, police said.
Police said he was out of the coma Friday, but doctors were still evaluating his brain injury.
Investigators believe that the injury was caused by an abusive
forceful action of Handy's and was not an accident, police said.
On Wednesday, police arrested Handy at a home in Stockton. He
allegedly later confessed that he had injured the boy in anger, police
said. Handy is being held at the West County Detention Facility
in Richmond on suspicion of felony child abuse. His bail has been set
at $100,000, according to a county jail official. The Contra
Costa County District Attorney's Office is expected to review the case
Monday and make a decision about whether to file formal charges, police
said. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Detective Robert Green at (925) 779-6932.

An Antioch man was
arraigned Tuesday on felony child abuse charges in the beating of his
girlfriend's 4-year-old son, who suffered a brain injury and has lost
the function of one arm, a prosecutor said."He is suffering at
least partial, maybe total paralysis in one arm," Contra Costa County
deputy district attorney Dara Cashman said. "Whether that will be
permanent or not, I don't know at this time."Aaron Handy, 28, was
charged Monday with one count of felony willful injury to a child and
two charge enhancements: inflicting great bodily injury on a child
younger than 5 and inflicting great bodily injury resulting in brain
injury, paralysis or coma. Handy was ordered to return to court
Sept. 16 to enter a plea. He faces as much as 17 years in prison if
convicted; he remains behind bars in lieu of $240,000 bail, Cashman
said.The child's mother came home to the residence she shares
with Handy on Peppertree Way on Aug. 20 and found her son unconscious.
Antioch police said that Handy, who had been watching the boy, tried to
persuade her not to call an ambulance. When she did, he fled, officers
said.The boy was hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury, and
doctors put him into a medically induced coma while surgeons removed a
portion of his skull to alleviate swelling. The boy, who remains
hospitalized, has been unable to describe how he was injured to police.
Handy was arrested Aug. 25 in Stockton. His ex-wife told investigators that she has
banned Handy from seeing their two children.Police
said that Handy told them that he became angry at the 4-year-old
and pushed him forcefully. Cashman said that statement is inconsistent
with the boy's injuries, but she declined to go into further detail.

An Antioch man accused of seriously injuring his girlfriend's 4-year-old son in August pleaded not guilty Thursday in Contra Costa County Superior Court in Pittsburg, according to court records. Aaron Handy, 28, has been charged with felony child abuse with enhancements for allegedly inflicting great bodily injury on a child younger than 5 years old and for causing a child to suffer a brain injury, coma or paralysis, Contra Costa County Deputy District Attorney Dara Cashman said. If convicted of all the charges, Handy could face a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison, Cashman said. The incident happened on Aug. 20 at a home on Peppertree Way where Handy, his girlfriend and her child lived. Handy was home watching the boy when he allegedly injured him, police said. He allegedly later admitted that he had hurt the boy in anger, according to police. When the boy's mother came home, she found her son unconscious. Police said Handy tried to convince the mother not to call 911 for her child and then fled the home. The boy was flown by helicopter to a hospital to be treated for a traumatic brain injury, police said. Doctors put him in a medically induced coma and removed a portion of his skull to alleviate swelling in the brain, police said. Updates on the boy's condition were not immediately available, but Cashman said that when she filed the charges against Handy that it was still too soon to tell whether he would have permanent brain damage. It did appear though that the brain injury might have caused paralysis to one of the boy's arms. Although she declined to release details about what happened, Cashman said she is confident that Handy's actions caused the injuries to the child. Handy was arrested five days later at a home in Stockton and booked into county jail. His bail has been set at $240,000, according to jail records.