
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP (WWJ) An Oakland County father— accused of causing near fatal injuries to his 2-month-old son by shaking him— faces the possibility of life in prison.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said Daniel Gracer, 31, was arraigned in Novi Saturday, February 8, on First Degree Child Abuse--which carries up to a life sentence if convicted. He is being held in the Oakland County Jail on a $1 million bond.
According to the sheriff’s office; it happened on December 23rd at a Springfield Township home— on Meadow Lane at Clark, in the area of Davisburg and I-75. Deputies were called to the home on reports of an unresponsive infant, who was under the sole care of his father (Gracer) at the time.
The infant was rushed to the hospital. Due to the severity of his head and brain trauma, he had to be transported to a second hospital; the sheriff’s office said.
According to the sheriff’s office; a child abuse specialist at the hospital determined the injuries to be “non accidental.” The specialist also concluded the child’s brain trauma was due to rapid acceleration and deceleration, consistent with shaking.
“The trauma was nearly fatal, and the child is likely to have severely delayed development,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release.
The hospital communicated the specialist’s findings to the sheriff’s office, who launched an investigation.
The Sheriff’s Fugitive Apprehension Team arrested Gracer on Friday, February 7. He is due back in court in Clarkston for a probable cause conference on February 18th.
“Children are such a blessing and a gift, and it is hard for me to understand how someone can intentionally injure a child,” Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said. “We look forward to this individual being held fully accountable.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, Shaken Baby Syndrome is a “serious brain injury” and a severe form of child abuse that happens as a result of a person, usually a parent or caregiver, violently shaking a baby or toddler. Children ages 2 months to 8 months are most at risk for Shaken Baby Syndrome, but it’s been reported in children up to six years old.
The Cleveland Clinic said Shaken Baby Syndrome can happen in as little as 5 seconds of a young child being shaken.
“Infants cry a lot in their first few months of life. That is normal,” Dr. Tanya Minasian, Pediatric Neurosurgeon, said in an educational video by Loma Linda University Hospital in California. “There are safe ways to calm a baby such as gentle swaddling or rocking. It is okay to put a baby in their crib, a safe place, walk away, take a break. It is never okay to shake a baby.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, Shaken Baby Syndrome is fatal in 25% of cases. Over 80% of survivors have life long neurological deficits and disabilities. Disabilities that could result from Shaken Baby Syndrome include, but are not limited to, seizures, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness, speech and developmental delays, and paralysis.
According to the National Center for Shaken Baby Syndrome; about 1,300 cases occur nationwide each year and it is the leading cause of child abuse deaths for children under five in the U.S.