Island man shook infant like 'rag doll'

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. --- A Tompkinsville man could spend the next 10 years in prison after he admitted to shaking his Queens girlfriend's infant son so badly that the boy suffered severe brain damage.

Jason Godfrey, 28, of the 400 block of Westervelt Avenue, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to first-degree assault, admitting he shook 11-month-old Jace Cardona at the boy's Queens home on Jan. 29, 2009. 
Godfrey, of Tompkinsville, faces 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree assault.
"The defendant has admitted that he shook his young victim like a rag doll, causing permanent brain damage and robbing the child of a productive and fruitful existence," said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown in a press release. "Under the circumstances, the punishment to be imposed -- a 10-year prison term -- is more than warranted."

More than a year later, the boy still requires "intensive rehabilitation" because of his injuries, said Kevin Ryan, a Brown spokesman.

Jace's mother, Emily Cardona, had gone to work that morning at 9:45 a.m. and left the boy in Godfrey's care, Ryan said.

The boy was sitting in a high chair and was in good health when she left, Ryan said.

At about 10:30 a.m., the mother got a call from Godfrey, who said he left the baby alone for a few moments and when he returned, Jace was unresponsive and had vomited.

The boy was brought to the emergency room at Long Island Jewish Hospital.

A doctor's exam revealed Godfrey's story to be a lie -- Jace's injuries, which included bleeding on the brain and in the eyes, massive brain swelling and oxygen deprivation to the brain, were the result of shaken baby syndrome, authorities said.

Police arrested Godfrey on Jan. 31, 2009. He's been held on $600,000 bail ever since.

Ryan said Godfrey has never made any statements about why he shook Jace.

Godfrey took the plea in front of Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard L. Buchter. He faces a sentence of 10 years when he returns before Buchter on March 31.

Brown referred to shaken baby syndrome as "the leading cause of child abuse deaths each year.

"Its victims are innocent and helpless children, often injured by those charged with protecting them," Brown said.

"These tiny victims are often impaired for life or killed. Caregivers of children should heed the important message that these cases unfortunately bring to our attention -- never, under any circumstances, shake a baby."