Young father pleads guilty to beating his infant son

NORTH CANAAN — A young father will head back to jail after pleading guilty to severely beating his 3-month-old son.Dustin Lawrence, 20, had recently completed a 6-month sentence for two separate assault cases when his wife, Fawn Rosier, left their son with him at their apartment at 92 Main St. On Feb. 11, 2010, the couple brought the baby to the Sharon Hospital emergency room. A doctor who had concerns called the police and the state Department of Children and Families. The baby was taken to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. A doctor there later submitted a report that the child had 22 bone fractures.Lawrence told police the baby had fallen twice that day. Medical evidence reportedly points to the child having been beaten. Lawrence was arrested on July 20 and charged with first-degree assault, risk of injury to a child and intentional cruelty to a child. All are felonies.On April 1, 2011, the case was concluded when Lawrence accepted a plea agreement. He pled guilty to the assault and risk of injury charges in exchange for a jail sentence of 10 to 12 years, followed by five years of probation. Weighing heavily in the case was the fact that a 3-month-old who cannot roll over yet cannot cause himself to fall or inflict any type of serious injury on himself.Lawrence has a history of violence, and has already served two jail terms. Convictions include an assault with a deadly weapon charge in Massachusetts and one combined prison term for two assaults that occurred within a five-week period in North Canaan — one in which he stabbed a 14-year-old and another that involved an elderly person.