Father Arrested After Infant Suffers Significant Injuries

(KPEL) - A New Llano man is facing charges after his 3-month-old baby was hospitalized for brain bleeding and fractured ribs.

The Vernon Parish Sheriff's Office announced on social media that Michael Wallin, 36, was arrested on August 22, 2025, after a baby was brought into a hospital with severe injuries.

Walin told the medical staff at the hospital that the baby fell out of the crib, but as they began their evaluations, the injuries to the infant were too severe to match his claim.

Here's the statement from the Sheriff's Office regarding this case:

"The arrest is the result of an investigation that began on August 15th, 2025 when VPSO received an abuse complaint through Vernon Parish Department of Child and Family Services.

Detectives learned that a 3-month-old infant had been presented to a local hospital for treatment and was found to be suffering from brain bleeding.

The infant was transferred to a medical facility in Shreveport for advanced treatment and while there the infant was found to be suffering from fractured ribs in various states of healing. Medical personnel classified the child’s injuries as Non-Accidental Trauma.

Initially Wallin told hospital personnel that the child fell out of a bouncy chair. Physicians examining the child noted that the statement from Wallin did not coincide with the extent of the infant’s injuries.

During the course of the investigation Detectives conducted an interview with Michael Wallin, the father of the child, who admitted to shaking the child on four occasions.

Michael Wallin was arrested and charged with four counts of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile. Bond has not been set, and Wallin remains in the VPSO jail.

At the time of this release the infant remains in a Shreveport hospital undergoing treatment for serious injuries and is considered to be in critical condition."