Pierce County man charged with child assault after baby suffers brain damage

Pierce County prosecutors have charged a 22-year-old man with first-degree child assault after his baby suffered brain damage while in his care.

Cole Gooch is to be arraigned July 7.

His 5-month-old daughter was taken to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital on April 19 with serious injuries, and a social worker called police to report possible child abuse.

The baby had hemorrhaging in her brain and both eyes, a skull fracture, and bruising on her throat, jaw line, ankle, knee, chest, forehead and back, according to charging papers.

Doctors sedated the girl and placed her on a ventilator, warning her parents she might not survive. She did, but shows signs of brain damage.

The baby’s mother said she noticed bruising on her daughter’s neck but didn’t know where it came from. She left the girl with Gooch.

He told detectives he fed his daughter a bottle and placed her in the center of the bed. After returning from preparing another bottle, he said he found the baby had fallen two feet from the bed to the floor.

The baby stopped breathing, but her grandfather came home and was able to get the girl breathing again. Gooch called 911.

Doctors said the baby’s injuries were not consistent with falling off a bed.

Their “assessment is that the acute, severe head trauma (the baby) suffered was due to shaking and impact, and there is no medical condition that would otherwise explain her injuries,” records show.

This story was originally published June 24, 2016 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Pierce County man charged with child assault after baby suffers brain damage."