Arizona Child Abuse: 2-Year-Old Boy Critical After Mother Punches, Shakes Him Violently

A mother from Glendale, Arizona was charged with child abuse after her toddler son was admitted to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

According to the court documents, the suspect, identified as 25-year-old Raejene Danae Dixon, admitted to the police that she punched and spanked her 2-year-old son “numerous times in the past week.”

On Tuesday afternoon, the police and the paramedics after receiving a report about an unresponsive child responded to an apartment unit near 75th and Glendale avenues that Dixon shares with her boyfriend.

Upon arrival, the deputies found the boyfriend trying to revive the child by providing him CPR. The officials immediately rushed him to the hospital. While taking him to the ambulance, the paramedics noticed bruises on the child’s face and torso.

When police questioned Dixon’s boyfriend about the bruises, he said the boy “had been spanked and some of those bruises could have been caused from administering discipline.”

The toddler was initially rushed to Thunderbird Hospital, but later his condition got so critical that he was air-lifted to Phoenix Children’s Hospital. According to the doctors, the child, in addition to bruises and rib fractures that showed signs of healing, also suffered from several other serious internal injuries.

Court documents also indicate that the boy suffered brain damage. The child was put on life support and the doctors said he “is in extremely critical condition.”

According to the investigators, Dixon’s boyfriend confessed that he had spanked the toddler “once or twice in the past but never more than spanking.” He told the officers that Dixon crossed the line and did far more than that.

According to the arrest statement, “at least a few times he has had to intervene to stop his girlfriend who was inflicting physical injury on the victim. [He also] acknowledged seeing Raejene using too much force when punishing [the victim].”

During the investigation, officials learned that the mother put the boy in the shower after he had thrown up. The child was left unattended in the shower for about 15 minutes. When Dixon returned, the toddler had collapsed and was unresponsive.

Police on Tuesday evening took Dixon into custody. The officials said she “acknowledged having used too much physical force when disciplining [her son].”

Dixon confessed to the police that she and her boyfriend had a baby about a month ago and that she had been frustrated with her son since then. The details about the toddler’s biological father were not mentioned in the court documents.

In the probable cause report, the police stated that “Her boyfriend has had to physically pull her off of the victim before when she is hitting [the 2-year-old. She has shaken the victim several times. Approximately one week ago she punched the victim in the chest with a closed fist.”

The couple’s baby was found in the house without any injuries. The court documents showed that Dixon had no records of arrests in the past. She was jailed and a bond of $75,000 was set on her.