A Sparks man who pled guilty to one count of Child Abuse Causing Substantial Bodily Harm has been sentenced to 20 years in prison with eligibility for parole after eight years — the maximum sentence.
Israel Bennet was arrested in September 2020 after detectives with the Reno Police Department were called to the hospital following a report of potential child abuse against a 7-week-old baby.
Medical staff informed law enforcement that the child had severe brain bleeding, fractures to his skull, hemorrhaging, and brain swelling.
Detectives interviewed the child's mother and she told police that Bennet had been frustrated in the past over not bonding with their son, and on one occasion she saw him forcefully shake the baby.
When officers spoke with Bennett, he told them that there were several times in the the week where he may have shaken his son too hard to get him to stop crying.
During sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Brett Dieffenbach argued that the now three-year-old child was irreparably injured by the actions of Bennett and that such injuries to a child cannot be tolerated and are deserving of the maximum sentence allowed by law.
(Washoe County District Attorney's Office)
