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A ‘nightmare.’ Bellefonte man headed to state prison for years after abuse of newborn

A Bellefonte man whose abuse left a newborn near death was sentenced Monday to at least four years in state prison.

Clayton L. Dobson, 28, was sentenced by Centre County President Judge Pamela Ruest to a maximum of eight years in prison, followed by two years of probation. He received credit for more than 13 months served.

Dobson, who pleaded guilty in June to one felony count each of aggravated assault and child endangerment, declined an opportunity to speak before Ruest handed down his sentence. Defense lawyer Karen Muir described the abuse as a “nightmare” for Dobson and the child.

The 5-week-old was hospitalized in June 2021 at Geisinger Medical Center. The child’s injuries included multiple fractured ribs, tibiae fractures, a fractured right collarbone, a brain bleed, uncontrollable seizures and a ligament injury to the spine, borough police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.

The injuries, a Geisinger child abuse pediatrician told investigators, did not came from more than one incident. Some fractures were nearly healed, while others were not. The injuries did not happen at birth, the pediatrician told police.

Dobson acknowledged he caused the injuries in an interview with police, a detective wrote, though he denied intentionally trying to hurt the child.

He told police he would shake the child, swing them by their legs and push on their torso. The child also rolled onto the floor after Dobson walked away in the midst of changing their diaper, police wrote.

The abuse outlined by police occurred while the child’s mother was at work. Dobson, police wrote, told investigators that he was “not educated enough to be taking care of a baby.”