A 22-year-old Silverdale man is being held on $500,000 bail after “shaking baby syndrome” was diagnosed in his 5-month-old son.

He was charged with second-degree assault of a child domestic violence in Kitsap County Superior Court Feb. 2. If convicted, the maximum penalty is 10 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.

On Jan. 24 the man called 911 and said his son suffered a seizure. Medics took him to St. Michael Medical Center in Silverdale where it was discovered that the boy had up to 60 retinal hemorrhages in his right eye and up to 12 in his left eye. He also had a small bleed to the brain on his right side.

The boy was transferred to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma. The parents were interviewed there the next day.

Court records show that while the mother was at work, the baby started fussing while taking a nap. The dad held him in one hand while making a bottle. The boy then became silent, red and stiff. The dad called 911 and followed instructions until medics arrived and took him to the hospital. The mom and dad met up there. On Jan. 26 a doctor said the trauma was consistent with “shaking baby syndrome.”