Baby abused, police say, and his dad is charged

The infant boy has a fractured skull and is hospitalized in critical condition.

By THOMAS LAKE, Times Staff Writer
Published September 19, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Courtesy of Pasco County Sheriff's Department] Max Mancero , a 21 year old Port Richey man charged with breaking skull of 6 wk old child.

PORT RICHEY - He was born prematurely. He was less than 2 months old. And one day last week, the boy and his father were together in the house.

Who will say how it all unfolded?

Not the boy: too young, too broken.

Not the father: Police say his story couldn't possibly be true.

And perhaps no one else: Police say the man and the boy were the only ones home.

How and why are usually the hardest questions.

Here's what:

The baby is named Christian Mancero. His family brought him to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg on Monday, Sept. 10, according to police. His skull was fractured. His scrotum was swollen and bruised.

Doctors notified the authorities, and when a Port Richey police detective interviewed the father, Max Mancero, 22, he said Christian had rolled off the bed onto the floor.

But a doctor said that's impossible, according to Sgt. Don Young of the Port Richey Police Department. The doctor said Christian's injuries had to have come from a "high-velocity impact," or, to be more specific, "multiple impacts."

And so the police arrested Mancero. They don't know how he did it, or why, but they say he hurt Christian. The charge is aggravated child abuse, a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Mancero has no prior criminal record in Florida. He was booked at the Land O'Lakes jail on Monday and held Tuesday in lieu of $10,000 bail. He declined a St. Petersburg Times interview request.

He lived at 5446 Quist Drive in Port Richey, a tidy canal-front brick house with a gas grill on the front walk and caged white birds chattering in the garage.

The mother's name was not known on Tuesday. Christian was in critical condition on Monday, Young said, but his condition was not known on Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for All Children's Hospital said the family had asked that no information be released.

"I'm not talking to no reporter," said a woman who identified herself as Mancero's mother, "so don't even bother."

She hung up the phone.

Could this become a homicide case?

"Very good chance," Young said.

Thomas Lake can be reached at tlake@sptimes.com or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6245.

[Last modified September 18, 2007, 21:56:18]