LI Man Pleads Guilty To Assaulting His Newborn Son: DA

RIVERHEAD, NY — Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly announced that a Suffolk County man pleaded guilty on Monday to first-degree assault for the repeated abuse of his five-week-old son in January 2024 that caused a subdural hematoma to the baby’s brain that required life-saving surgical intervention, prosecutors said.

Vincent Distasi, 33, of South Setauket, pleaded guilty in Suffolk County Court.

He is expected to receive 17 years in prison and five years post-release supervision when he is sentenced on August 4.

The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office was designated as special prosecutor on this case.

On January 21, 2024, Donnelly said the five-week-old son of Distasi was rushed to Stony Brook University Hospital unresponsive and required emergency brain surgery.

Doctors determined the child suffered from multiple injuries, including rib fractures, fractures to both arms, and a subdural hematoma to his brain, among other acute injuries, prosecutors said.

The baby's injuries were in various stages of healing indicating that the child had suffered prolonged abuse, Donnelly said.

As part of the criminal investigation, Ring video footage was secured from the Distasi home that recorded the family’s living room. Review of the footage showed Distasi abusing the infant throughout the first five weeks of his life. The video showed the Distasi tossing, punching, smacking and smothering the child over the course of weeks, Donnelly said.

On January 21, 2024, Distasi violently shook the infant, causing the injuries that resulted in the child’s emergency surgery, prosecutors said.

“Vincent Distasi is a sick and angry man who repeatedly beat up on his five-week-old son, filling that child’s first weeks on this earth with pain and violence,” Donnelly said. "To this day, the child— now one and a half years old — continues to have medical complications and recently underwent another surgery on his skull to drain fluid in his brain. While he survived his father’s brutal attack, the child’s quality of life remains uncertain. But what is certain is that Distasi will spend nearly two decades in prison for his crimes and will never be a danger to his son again.”

Patch attempted to reach Distasi's attorney Anthony La Pinta for comment.