Dos Palos man suspected of breaking an infant's legs

LOS BANOS, Calif. (KFSN) -- A small child is recovering after being brutally beaten by a Dos Palos man. 29-year-old Aaron Burns is facing multiple child abuse charges, in addition to violating his probation.

Los Banos Police say the alleged crime happened at the Economy Inn on Pacheco Boulevard sometime between late Sunday night and early Monday morning. Burns was arrested Wednesday.

Police say Burns became angered with the 10-month-old boy and broke both of his legs and caused bruises to his upper body.

"We are very satisfied that he is in custody and he is not going to be anywhere near this child," said Los Banos Police Commander Ray Reyna.

The child was brought to Memorial Hospital in Los Banos before being transferred to Valley Children's in Madera County, where he's since been released and is expected to make a full recovery. The boy is now under the care of Child Protective Services.

Police say the mother, from the Los Banos area, initially lied to them, saying she had left her son with a man she had just met, and came back to the motel room to find her son had been hurt. But police say the two were in some kind of relationship, and are still investigating whether the mother was present when the child was injured.

"It is certainly a possibility that there could be additional charges or additional suspects in the future," Reyna said.

For now, Burns is at the Merced County jail without bail. Police say he's been cooperative, and while they now know how he broke the child's legs, they're not releasing those disturbing details. The case is already hard enough for anyone to hear.

"It's very sad that this did occur and it's hard to believe that someone could do this to a small child," Reyna said.

He says Los Banos Police are still aggressively working the case giving the heinous nature of the crime.