Gulfport man pleads guilty after hitting infant son in the head because he was crying
Gulfport resident Buddy Randall Cox pleaded guilty this week to felony child abuse that resulted after the man repeatedly hit his infant baby, resulting in critical injuries.
Cox, 23, was set for trial this week, but then decided to enter a guilty plea instead, according to the Harrison County District Attorney’s Office.
Cox was arrested shortly after paramedics went to his home on Campbell Circle on Sept. 13, 2018, in response to call for help for a 2-month-old boy who was no longer breathing.
The infant was rushed to Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, where doctors discovered severe bleeding in the child’s brain. From there, the baby was taken to Children’s Hospital in New Orleans, where he remained under the care of doctors for a month, the release said.
Cox later admitted twice hitting the baby in the head in an attempt to stop him from crying.
“Due to the severity of the head injury, the physicians at Children’s Hospital were of the opinion the injuries were not self-inflicted and would have not have occurred with normal handling of a child,” Assistant District Attorney Alison Baker said in a release. “This child has some lasting health effects from the abuse, but his recovery is nothing short of a miracle.”
The infant also had seizures as a result of the abuse.
Cox didn’t initially show up for trial this week, but a warrant was issued of his arrest and Harrison County sheriff’s deputies and Gulfport police found him at hotel on U.S. 49 in Gulfport.
Judge Larry Bourgeois set his sentencing on Monday. He’s facing between five years to life in prison for the crime.
