Vincent DiStasi charged with severely abusing 5-week-old son 'still suffering' from injuries

A South Setauket man strangled, punched, violently shook and smothered his then-5-week-old son, injuring the infant so severely that the baby was put on life support and needed emergency surgery to save his life, Nassau prosecutors said Thursday.

Vincent DiStasi, 31, was arraigned on a grand jury indictment in Suffolk County Criminal Court in Riverhead on charges of first-degree assault, reckless assault of a child and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He was initially arrested in January, after the boy was found unresponsive and rushed to Stony Brook University Hospital with a brain injury.

Emma Slane, Nassau County assistant district attorney and chief of the Special Victims Bureau, who is prosecuting the case, described DiStasi’s conduct as “inhumane and evil.”

“This baby is the most vulnerable victim that one can be — a newborn who could do absolutely nothing to protect himself or ask for help except cry, and often his crying lead to just more violence by this defendant,” Slane said. “The baby has made incredible strides in his recovery, but he is still suffering from many of these injuries and he is expected to suffer from them, in some capacity, for the rest of his life.”

In court Thursday, DiStasi pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors had asked for DiStasi to be remanded to jail but Judge Richard Ambro continued bail at $300,000 cash or $300,000 bond. DiStasi posted bail and was released. The judge also issued an order of protection preventing contact between DiStasi and the baby, as well as a 2-year-old daughter who allegedly witnessed the abuse.

DiStasi's attorney, Anthony M. La Pinta, said his client is married with two children, owns a home, is a lifelong resident of Suffolk and has attended prior court dates. DiStasi’s parents were in court Thursday and declined to comment.

The Nassau County District Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case due to an unspecified conflict of interest reported by Suffolk County prosecutors. Neither office would elaborate on the conflict.

The boy endured abuse from the days after he was brought home from the hospital, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said at a news conference. Prosecutors said they have Ring camera video of DiStasi abusing the boy multiple times.

Prosecutors said the boy's mother, who is married to DiStasi, was unaware of the abuse until the boy was rushed to the hospital by medics and she has been cooperating with investigators. 

“Vincent DiStasi allegedly manhandled his son on multiple occasions in the first few days of his life, punching the baby, smothering him, tossing him around and choking him repeatedly,” Donnelly said.

On Jan. 21, the infant was rushed to Stony Brook after his parents found him unresponsive and he underwent emergency surgery for a traumatic brain injury, Slane said. 

“The injury was so bad that the surgery required a portion of the base of the skull to be removed to alleviate the swelling and address the bleeding,” Slane said. “After that lifesaving intervention, the baby was essentially on life support for several weeks.”

During the hospital stay, the boy was treated for a subdural hematoma to his brain. Older injuries were discovered on the baby, including fractures to his leg, arm and ribs, and retinal hemorrhages to one of his eyes that were in various stages of healing, Slane said. 

Doctors initially gave the infant little chance to survive, but he is now 4 months old, showing signs of improvement and is undergoing multiple therapies, Donnelly said. She said he may never fully recover. 

“Back in a hospital a mere five weeks after he came into this world, he fought barely having a chance to live,” Donnelly said. “Doctors believed he was likely to die, but this little boy is strong. Against all odds he is improving. Doctors have told us he's starting to breathe again on his own.”

If convicted of the top count, DiStasi, who was arrested Jan. 29, faces up to 25 years in prison.

He is due back in court on May 23.