South Setauket Man Gets 17 Years Prison Time In Connection With Beating Young Son: Report

RIVERSIDE, NY — A South Setauket father was sentenced 17 years in prison and five years' probation for severely beating his five-week-old son, Newsday reported.

Thirty-three-year-old Vincent DiStasi, who pleaded guilty back in June to first-degree assault in connection with the beating, was also issued two permanent orders of protection for his two children, according to the outlet.

Judge Richard Ambro told him that he knows he is "remorseful, but this was a reprehensible act," adding, "The injuries to your son are devastating, and we won’t know the full extent for many years," the outlet reported.

Patch has reached out to his attorney, Anthony La Pinta of Hauppauge, for comment.

For more in Newsday, click here.

The Nassau County District Attorney's office was appointed as special prosecutors for the case due to a conflict of interest in Suffolk.

Prosecutors in Nassau previously said that around 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 21, 2024, the five-week-old son of Distasi was rushed to Stony Brook University Hospital unresponsive and required emergency brain surgery, and that doctors determined he suffered from multiple injuries, including rib fractures, fractures to both arms, and a subdural hematoma to his brain, among other acute injuries.

The infant’s injuries were in various stages of healing, indicating that the child had suffered prolonged abuse, prosecutors said at the time.

As part of the criminal investigation, Ring video footage was secured from Distasi's home that recorded the family’s living room, and a review showed him "abusing the infant throughout the first five weeks of his life," Nassau DA Anne Donnelly said after his initial indictment in 2024.

The video showed him tossing, punching, smacking, and smothering the child over the course of weeks, Donnelly said, adding that on Jan. 21, he violently shook the infant, causing the injuries that resulted in the child’s emergency surgery.

He was arrested on Jan. 29, outside of Stony Brook University Hospital by Suffolk's 6th Precinct and Special Victims Section, she said.