OC mother charged with beating 5-week-old son, leaving baby with 16 broken bones, prosecutors say

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- A Santa Ana mother has been charged with repeatedly beating her 5-week-old son after he would not stop crying, leaving the infant with 16 broken bones and a skull fracture, prosecutors said Thursday.

Mirian Jimenez-Olivera, 34, was charged with 11 counts of child abuse, the Orange County district attorney's office said in a news release. She faces a maximum sentence of 42 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Her husband, Edgar Busto-Rodriguez, 35, was charged with one felony count of accessory after the fact, the statement said. He faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison if found guilty.

Jimenez-Olivera allegedly punched her newborn son, Esteban, in the ribs, shoulder and arms "on multiple occasions" and roughly pulled his leg when she changed him, prosecutors said. She is accused of assaulting the baby since he was 2 weeks old.

Busto-Rodriguez allegedly tried to cover up the abuse by lying to police about how his son was injured.

On Monday, the baby was brought to Children's Hospital of Orange County in Orange because he wasn't moving his left arm, the D.A.'s office said. In addition to a fractured skull and broken bones, doctors found the child had a fractured knee, elbow, finger and ribs in two separate locations.

"A mother's arms should be the safest place for a newborn, fiercely protecting him from the world, but for little Esteban his mother's arms were the weapons of violence which helped systematically break his little bones into tiny pieces because he wouldn't stop doing what every newborn does -- cry," District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. "No child should be brought into this world and be subjected to unimaginable pain - and then be left to suffer in silence, not knowing when the next time his mother would lash out in anger and break another rib or snap another bone. We are so grateful to the miracle workers at CHOC who rescued this defenseless baby from the living hell he was born into."

The baby's parents pleaded not guilty and on Thursday were being held in custody in lieu of $1 million bond each.