{"id":72208,"date":"2026-11-07T13:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T19:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=72208"},"modified":"2026-11-07T05:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T11:46:09","slug":"laporte-father-charged-after-infants-brain-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/laporte-father-charged-after-infants-brain-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Laporte Father Charged After Infant’s Brain Injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

BELTRAMI COUNTY, Minn.<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2013 A Laporte man faces two felony charges after his 3-month-old son suffered serious injuries involving bleeding around the brain.<\/p>\n

Andrew Michael Gustafson, 32, of Laporte<\/strong>, is charged with felony child endangerment and malicious punishment of a child.<\/p>\n

According to a criminal complaint filed in Beltrami County District Court, medical professionals raised serious concerns about possible abusive head trauma.<\/p>\n

Infant Hospitalized With Serious Brain Injuries<\/h2>\n

The investigation began January 29, 2026, when the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a possible assault involving an infant.<\/p>\n

The complaint states that the child had been evaluated at Children’s Minnesota in Minneapolis on January 26.<\/p>\n

Medical imaging revealed large collections of blood-containing fluid beneath the membranes surrounding both sides of the baby’s brain.<\/p>\n

Doctors described the findings as highly concerning for abusive head trauma.<\/p>\n

According to the medical records, the parents reported no accidental injury that could explain the condition.<\/p>\n

Medical Records Raise Concerns About Shaking<\/h2>\n

The complaint states that doctors examined several possible explanations for the infant’s injuries.<\/p>\n

Blood tests did not indicate an underlying bleeding disorder. A skeletal examination revealed no fractures.<\/p>\n

Doctors also found no visible injuries to the child’s skin.<\/p>\n

However, medical professionals stated that the absence of those injuries did not eliminate concerns about physical abuse.<\/p>\n

The medical report explained that violent shaking can produce the type of forces associated with certain infant head injuries.<\/p>\n

Doctors could not determine the precise date of the bleeding or whether it resulted from one or multiple events.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A Laporte man faces two felony charges after his 3-month-old son suffered serious injuries involving bleeding around the brain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Infant’s Head Growth Raises Additional Questions<\/h2>\n

According to court documents, the baby’s head circumference was within the normal range around January 6.<\/p>\n

By January 26, the measurement had increased above the 99th percentile.<\/p>\n

Medical professionals suggested the original injury may have occurred around January 6.<\/p>\n

However, they emphasized that the available imaging could not establish the exact timing of the injury.<\/p>\n

Mother Describes Concerns About Father’s Behavior<\/h2>\n

Investigators interviewed the child’s mother as part of the investigation.<\/p>\n

She told authorities that she and Gustafson were the only two people who had access to the infant in circumstances involving possible abuse.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, the mother reported previously hearing Gustafson yell at the baby.<\/p>\n

She also described seeing Gustafson hold the infant while bouncing him aggressively and rapidly.<\/p>\n

The mother said she warned Gustafson to stop because she feared the movement could injure the child.<\/p>\n

She reported that Gustafson responded by saying the rapid bouncing was the only way to calm the baby.<\/p>\n

The mother told investigators she did not believe the infant would be safe in Gustafson’s sole care.<\/p>\n

Her statements were included in the probable cause allegations supporting the charges.<\/p>\n

Two Felony Charges Filed<\/h2>\n

Prosecutors charged Gustafson with felony child endangerment under Minnesota Statute 609.378<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The charge alleges that Gustafson intentionally or recklessly endangered the child’s health, resulting in substantial harm.<\/p>\n

He also faces felony malicious punishment of a child under Minnesota Statute 609.377<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That charge alleges excessive force involving an infant and bodily harm to the head.<\/p>\n

Each felony carries a maximum possible sentence of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.<\/p>\n

Beltrami County Court Case<\/h2>\n

The case is filed in Minnesota’s Ninth Judicial District under court file number 04-CR-26-2645<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The criminal complaint lists a summons for Gustafson.<\/p>\n

The precise date and cause of the child’s injuries remain disputed matters for the legal proceedings.<\/p>\n

The allegations have not been proven in court. Gustafson is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.<\/p>\n

I’m Adrian Cole reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Laporte man faces two felonies after his 3-month-old son suffered bleeding around the brain. Medical findings raised concerns about abusive head trauma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"","timeOption":"","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":""},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[31394,1212,1197],"trf_mt_town":[],"trf_mt_county":[],"trf_mt_topic":[29493],"trf_mt_series":[],"class_list":["post-72208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-andrew-michael-gustafson","tag-beltrami-county","tag-criminal-charges"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72208"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72210,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72208\/revisions\/72210"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72208"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_town","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_town?post=72208"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_county","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_county?post=72208"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_topic?post=72208"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_series?post=72208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}