Father charged with child abuse when infant son was rushed to hospital

Before dawn on Nov. 6, a husband and wife rushed their 3-month-old son to a New Port Richey hospital because he was having seizures.

From there, the infant was flown to All Childrens Hospital in St. Petersburg and is now on a ventilator, with intermittent seizures and does not respond to stimulation.

The father, Richard A. Degolier, a 33-year-old electrician, was arrested Friday for aggravated child abuse. The Pasco County Sheriff's Office says he was the one who hurt his son.

The baby, bruised and scratched, has injuries consistent with abusive head trauma, squeezing and strangulation.

In an interview with police, Degolier denied the accusations and said, on the night his son fell ill, he heard him whimpering on the baby monitor and found him caught in his crib slats. He said he only shook him for "five to 10 seconds" to see if he was okay.

Degolier is being held in the Pasco County jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.