Baby left ‘unable to walk, talk or see’ after health-obsessed parents put him in sauna
The couple, who considered themselves “vegan mucus-free fruitarians”, employed extreme practices and exposed their baby to “high temperature saunas and ice baths”
A 10-month-old baby was left brain damaged(Image: Getty Images)
Vegan parents with extreme health views have been found guilty of leaving their newborn son “unable to walk, talk, or see” after exposing him to extreme heat and ice baths.
The alarm was raised after John Gonzalez, 38, and 45-year-old Jaqueline Navarro brought their poorly ten-month-old son to hospital suffering from seizures and brain damage.
“The baby was grey in colour, emaciated, and catatonic,” according to a statement from prosecutors. “Emergency room doctors discovered the boy had extremely low blood sugar levels and suffered from hypoxia and constant seizures.”
The couple, who considered themselves “vegan mucus-free fruitarians”, employed extreme practices and exposed him to “high temperature saunas and ice baths.” Prosecutors said the parents “refused to feed the baby formula or breast milk because they believed it was toxic.”
The baby was rushed to Orange County Hospital (Image: Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
According to the district attorney’s office in Orange County, “Gonzalez objected to many lifesaving treatments and told medical staff he believed that starvation would lead to healing.”
The parents have been convicted of one felony count of child abuse and endangerment and one felony enhancement of causing great bodily injury to a child under five.
The victim’s paternal grandmother, who alerted authorities multiple times about the condition of the boy, was awarded custody of the now five year old.
The Department of Child Welfare Services was found to have failed to protect the baby from malnourishment, which led to permanent brain damage and seizures. Tulare County had to pay $32 million to settle a lawsuit filed by his grandmother.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said: “This innocent child suffered from almost the first breath he took because of his parents’ beliefs that starvation would cure him. Instead of curing him, they robbed him of his sight, his ability to take his first steps, to say his first words, and his chance to see the world through the eyes of a child who is seeing everything for the first time.
“Tragically, he will never get to experience any of those milestones because his parents starved him nearly to death instead of giving him the nourishment he so desperately needed.”
Gonzalez and Navarro are being held without bail and will be sentenced July 25.
It comes after a mum allegedly “pinned” down her five-year-old daughter and “yanked out” her teeth after accusing her of “having a demon in you.”
Rebecca Lee Bailey, 40, was arrested by police on June 19 after authorities received a tip-off about a potential child abuse case. Eyewitnesses at the scene claimed that Bailey was shouting at the child, accusing her of “having a demon in her” while brandishing a cross. Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office said the mum allegedly restrained the young girl and removed two of her teeth.
The Sheriff’s Office reported that they had alerted Child Protective Services and emergency services to ensure the child was given medical attention and kept safe. Bailey is currently detained at Southern Regional Jail, with her bail set at $50,000.
