A Cross Lanes man allegedly shook his infant son, causing bleeding on the brain and other injures.
Joshua Steven Albany, 24, of Antelope Lane, is charged with child abuse causing injury, a felony.
After his arraignment before Magistrate Ward Harshbarger Monday morning, he admitted that he shook his 4-month-old son.
"Yes, I do," he said, when a reporter asked if he felt bad about it.
Kanawha County emergency responders were called to the house on Sunday, and the baby was taken to Charleston Area Medical Center's Women and Children's Hospital, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.
Healthcare providers reported the baby had bleeding on the brain, a broken left clavicle, and slight bruising on the left rib area.
Sgt. S.D. Snuffer wrote in the complaint that Albany said he shook the infant because he was frustrated.
Sgt. Brian Humphreys said the mother was only in the other room of the house for a matter of minutes before the abuse occurred.
"He said he was frustrated and tired of the child crying, keeping him up," Humphreys said.
Humphreys said it's too soon to tell whether the baby will survive, and that the baby's young age also makes it difficult to predict.
The Kanawha County Sheriff's Office investigates numerous cases of child abuse, including those involving shaken babies, each year. Humphreys said this case was unique because the father was only with the child such a short time, and because healthcare providers were so quick to pinpoint abuse as the cause.
Albany faces two to 10 years in prison.
Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv, or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.