A Gresham man who assaulted his 7-month-old daughter so violently it caused permanent brain damage has been sentenced to 90 months in prison.
Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Ed Jones sentenced Roderick D. Frimpong, 28, of Gresham to more than seven years in prison on Friday, Dec. 14. A jury found Frimpong guilty of first-degree assault on Tuesday, Nov. 20, at the end of a week-long trial.
Citing his client's mild mental retardation, Frimpong's defense attorney argued that Frimpong should be found guilty of a lesser charge of misdemeanor fourth-degree assault, instead of the felony Measure 11 offense that comes with a mandatory sentence of 90 months.
On May 9, 2011, police responded to a 9-1-1 call from one of Frimpong's neighbors who reported hearing a commotion that sounded like someone throwing and breaking furniture, from Frimpong's apartment at the Groves, 3500 N.E. 17th St. Officers arrived to find an infant who appeared unconscious and was having trouble breathing.
Earlier in the day, Frimpong had asked a different neighbor for help getting the baby to stop crying. He told police he rocked the baby too hard in her stroller and he knew something was wrong as soon as she stopped crying. Frimpong told an officer that he'd had training about shaken baby syndrome in high school and was afraid that's what happened.
He also said he was intoxicated and under the influence of marijuana at the time.
Doctors, however, said his story didn't match the severity of her injuries. According to results of an MRI, the parts of the baby's brain had died.
Scenarios that could cause such injuries include a television falling and crushing a head, a car crash in which a person is ejected and the head crushed, or a fall from 33 feet in which the person lands on his or her head.
In addition to being shaken, doctors noted evidence of impact, Woods said. She had bruising to the side of her head, as well as bleeding under her scalp and between the brain and the membrane that surrounds the organ, indicate the baby's head struck something soft and broad, such as mattress, Woods said.
In some ways, she's doing better than expected, said prosecutor Charlene Woods. Originally doctors feared she would die or, if she survived, she'd be comatose or blind. The assault has impaired her vision. She doesn't have full use of the right side of her body and drags her foot when she walks. Now 2, the girl's speech also is significantly delayed.
She's undergone brain surgeries and a prolonged hospital stay. She also will need plastic surgery to correct a bone flap on her skull, the result of one of those brain surgeries.
The baby is in foster care. Her mother died five months after the assault from a heart problem. She was at an appointment with her cardiologist when Frimpong assaulted their baby.