Oregon Man Arrested for Beating 18-Month-Old Boy Inside Bar/Home

(SPRINGFIELD, Ore. ) - A 24-year-old Springfield, Oregon man is behind bars today after he allegedly beat an 18-month-old boy over the weekend.

Springfield police say Jeffrey Thomas Sprenger was arrested on Wednesday at J.T.’s Place in downtown Springfield, a bar he co-owns, after police found the infant with severe head injuries, which included bruising and lacerations in a backroom of the bar where the child, Sprenger, and the boy's mother were living.

Officers responded to the bar after receiving a tip from the boy’s babysitter.

The child was rushed to an area hospital, then transferred to Dornbeckers Children's Hospital in Portland, where he is listed in stable condition police said.

Sprenger is logged in the Lane County Jail on two counts of First Degree Criminal Mistreatment and Second Degree Assault.

Police say the boy’s mother was in jail at the time of the incident, but she could also face charges.

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lee April 13, 2011 10:53 am (Pacific time)

I am the one that is raising the boy now, he will be 6 in a few days. His father and I have custody now. From the time he was born till this happened to him he was neglected by his drug addicted mother. She never did any jail time for this and she tries to act like nothing happen to the child. She is not a part of his life and never will be. She continues to use drugs, and is in and out of jail for drugs and stealing peoples identity.

eneweed December 19, 2007 10:34 am (Pacific time)

This guy is really stupid i hope the child is oK

Jimi April 10, 2007 9:58 pm (Pacific time)

"where was DHS in all of this" DHS is much like police.. They are there bugging the wrong person at the wrong time and not getting the SOBs that need to be removed. Its a broken system, think about that when you pay your taxes and when you vote..

Jimi April 10, 2007 9:51 pm (Pacific time)

I hope this "A" hole get a lot of years (in not forever) for this.. I hope that child recovers and gets placed in a home with people that want to have a baby but can't..

Anonymous April 9, 2007 2:07 am (Pacific time)

hes a crack head

Albert Marnell April 8, 2007 8:48 pm (Pacific time)

Carla, I forgot one thing. I never said the "Religious Right" were child abusers. I was trying to say that they should look in their own homes before they point fingers at others. Thanks again for your input.

Albert Marnell April 8, 2007 8:36 pm (Pacific time)

Carla, Good Point!

Carla April 8, 2007 6:56 pm (Pacific time)

Um, Albert, I'm part of the "religious right," I guess, because I'm a Christian who belives in God and the Bible. However, I do not beat my daughter, and anyone who lays an unkind hand on her will wish s/he had never even thought about it. I don't think that you can equate being religious with being a gay-hater or child-abuser. While I believe in the Bible, which condemns homosexuality, I figure the commandment to love my neighbor is my job, and God's job is to decide how He feels about homosexuals.

Albert Marnell April 7, 2007 11:41 pm (Pacific time)

Is someone talking about my father? This stuff was so common until relatively recently. Finally something is being done but not enough. Children are still routinely beaten and parents still get away with these horrible acts. I guess that is part of the wonderful traditional American family that the religious right romanticizes. Gay marriage is not a threat to children; distrubed adults are.

Carla April 7, 2007 9:23 pm (Pacific time)

I'm praying for this innocent child, and the son of the "man" who tasered him. Guess we can only hope that these sub-humans get what they deserve, and that the children are given to people who cherish them as every child deserves to be cherished.

RJ April 7, 2007 7:33 am (Pacific time)

These people just make me SICK! Let's pray that the 18 month old is safe now and forever!

Mike Eugene April 6, 2007 8:32 am (Pacific time)

$50 bucks says he was on meth at the time. And who in the world let an 18-month-old live in a bar, where was DHS in all of this.

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