MADISON, WI – A Wisconsin father will spend the next dozen years behind bars after admitting he threw his 8-month-old son against a wall because he was losing a basketball video game, leaving the infant with catastrophic injuries that doctors initially didn’t expect the baby to survive.
Jalin A. White, 22, received his sentence Tuesday after pleading guilty to child abuse causing great bodily harm and child neglect causing great bodily harm. The case shocked investigators who said the young father’s frustration over a virtual basketball game nearly cost his infant son’s life.
Court documents paint a disturbing picture of what happened inside the Wisconsin home. White was playing NBA 2K when things started going sideways in the fourth quarter. Down by just two points, he became increasingly agitated while holding his baby boy.
According to prosecutors, that’s when White lost control completely, hurling the infant against the wall in a fit of rage over a video game.
The baby suffered devastating injuries including six fractured ribs, a skull fracture, and severe brain damage. Medical professionals who treated the child weren’t optimistic about his chances at first, telling investigators the injuries were life-threatening.
When confronted by authorities, White spun multiple stories about what happened. He initially claimed the baby fell during a diaper change. Then he said he accidentally dropped the child while gaming. He even tried pinning the blame on the baby’s mother.
Investigators weren’t buying any of it, and eventually the evidence pointed squarely at White as the one responsible for the brutal assault on his own son.
The baby, against all odds, pulled through and survived his injuries. But the road to recovery was long and difficult for a child who should have been learning to crawl rather than fighting for his life in a hospital bed.
In addition to his 12-year prison sentence, White will face seven years of probation upon release. The court also ordered him to complete parenting classes and treatment programs, and permanently banned him from using any form of corporal punishment on children.
