MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man accused of throwing a baby against a wall while playing video games pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison on Tuesday, Dec. 30.
In court:
Prosecutors charged 22-year-old Jalin White with child abuse and child neglect. He pleaded guilty to both counts and was sentenced to 12 years in prison and an additional seven years of extended supervision.
Jalin White in court for a plea and sentencing hearing on Dec. 30, 2025.
"My intentions were never to hurt my baby boy. Everything just happened so quick," White told the court. "I want to take full accountability for my wrongs and my actions."
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android
WARNING: Details of this story may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised.
Baby's injuries
The backstory:
Milwaukee police officers and detectives responded to Children's Wisconsin to investigate a child abuse complaint on Nov. 5, 2024. Court filings identified the victim as a baby who was a little more than 8 months old.
Prosecutors said White threw his son against the wall after he got frustrated playing NBA 2K. A criminal complaint said the baby was severely injured and had to be intubated. The baby lost a pulse and the medical team had to administer multiple rounds of CPR to bring the pulse back.
Details of the incident
Prosecutors said tests revealed the baby had a "large" skull fracture and hemorrhaging, along with six fractured ribs that were at "different stages of healing" and a healing clavicle fracture. Based on the severity of the baby's brain injury, court filings said the baby was "not expected to survive," but he did.
Details of the child abuse
Prosecutors say to this day, the child has vision issues, is dependent on a feeding tube, and is seeing multiple specialists weekly.
What they're saying:
"You have one of the most innocent of innocent victims in our community hurt by the very person who under the law should protect them and keep them safe and then attempts to cover up his actions," said Matthew Torbenson, prosecutor, in court on Tuesday.
White's defense attorney said White's memory is fuzzy on the specifics and he panicked.
"Mr. White wishes he could tell the court exactly what happened, unfortunately being under the influence of marijuana and percocets at the time, we just don't have that," said Annette Rauch, defense attorney.
Interview with White
Dig deeper:
The criminal complaint in this case said officers determined that the baby was living at a home near 42nd and Good Hope. Officers interviewed the residence, including White, who was arrested along with a woman.
During an in-custody interview, court filings said White told police that the baby's skull fracture was the result of the woman bumping the baby's head on a door frame. When confronted with the severity of the baby's injuries, he claimed the baby fell while he was changing the baby's diaper – and detectives explained that the fall he described would not result in the severe injuries that the baby sustained.
Court filings went on to say White told police he dropped the baby while standing and playing video games. He said the baby squirmed and fell "hard to the floor." Detectives confronted White directly, per the complaint, asking him: "Did you try to put him on the bed, and he hit the wall?"
Prosecutors said White then admitted he threw the baby against the wall while playing video games. He said he had been holding the baby to "keep him chill for a little bit," but the baby was getting heavy so he threw the baby against the wall and onto the bed. The baby hit the wall roughly a foot above the bed before landing face first on the bed.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
The complaint said detectives told White that they would confirm with medical professionals whether his explanation of throwing the baby against the wall would account for the severity of the baby’s injuries. In response, White said: "He hit his head hard on the wall, bro. I swear he hit his head hard on the wall," and "I heard the wall, it was hard on his head. It was hard. It was a loud hard wall."
White said he was playing NBA 2K and the game was competitive, according to court filings. He was down two points in the fourth quarter of the game and became frustrated while holding the baby, ultimately throwing the baby against the wall.
The Source: FOX6 News was in court for White's plea and sentencing hearing, reviewed information from the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court.