COEUR d’ALENE — A man who pleaded guilty to abusing a newborn, causing numerous fractures, will spend up to a decade in prison, according to the Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

William J. Baures, 28, of Hayden, pleaded guilty in April to injury to a child, a felony. 

First District Judge Barry McHugh sentenced Baures this week to 10 years in prison, the maximum allowed for the crime, with parole eligibility after five years. 

The charges stem from Dec. 25, 2024, when sheriff’s deputies responded to Kootenai Health after a 5-week-old baby was brought to the emergency room with a fractured femur. 

Dr. Charlotte Weeda, a pediatrician and child abuse specialist who treated the infant, said the infant sustained 25 fractures, including a broken femur, growth plate fractures and fractures to the ribs.

Prosecutors said Baures caused the injuries by squeezing or shaking the infant, pulling the infant’s legs and pushing on his shoulders, tossing the infant onto a couch and “trying to pop the infant’s back.”  

Baures is the father of the infant.

Based on Baures’ disclosures and X-rays that showed the injuries and how they were healing, Weeda said there were at least three incidents of abuse over a period of several weeks. 

“I was thankful the baby was still alive,” she told the court. “He has more fractures than any of the live babies I’ve treated.” 

Prosecuting attorney Laura McClinton said the abuse caused the infant to experience “a significant amount of pain.” 

“He was suffering and this was ongoing,” she said. “The only way he could express himself was to cry and fuss, which likely led to more abuse.” 

Defense counsel for Baures said that Baures was experiencing depression and sleep deprivation when he injured the infant. Since the infant was hospitalized, Baures has entered counseling and completed parenting classes. 

Before handing down the sentence, McHugh reflected on the facts of the case. 

“The number of broken bones is appalling,” he said. “As a father, I can appreciate the frustration with a child who is struggling with sleep and the fatigue, exhaustion and frustration of raising a child going through that. But we’re talking about a 5-week-old child.” 

McHugh said a prison sentence was appropriate in the case because of the circumstances and the seriousness of the infant’s injuries. 

“We don’t know the long-term effects on the child,” he said. “The number of times that it occurred indicate it wasn’t an accident or isolated incident and could possibly have continued.”