A Dowagiac man faces a minimum of two years in prison for abusing his 3-month-old son. The injuries inflicted resulted in the child being taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Cass County Circuit Court Judge Michael Dodge sentenced Manuel Bermudez III, 23, to the prison term for child abuse in the second degree Friday morning. Bermudez had previously appeared before the court on March 6, when he pleaded guilty to the charge.

According to the court, the charge stemmed from Bermudez’s arrest after his infant son was taken to the emergency room on March 12, 2013, for retinal hemorrhaging and internal bleeding on the brain.

“The retinal hemorrhaging is a classic indication of shaken baby syndrome,” Dodge said. “A CT scan was performed on [the child], and it showed the presence of old bleeding as well as new bleeding. That indicated that the baby had shaken on more than one occasion.”

The child’s injuries were so severe that the emergency room staff questioned whether or not he would survive, Dodge said. He was taken to Bronson hospital in Kalamazoo to be treated for neurological damage in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Investigators determined that Bermudez was the caregiver responsible for the child at the time the injuries were sustained, Dodge said.

“Eventually, after some initial denials, you did admit to the DHS worker that you may well have been responsible for causing these injuries, which you attributed to your addiction to pain medications,” Dodge said.

While entering his guilty plea to the charge last month, Bermudez told the court that he handled his son in a violent fashion, throwing him down on a bed, Dodge said.

Cass County Assistant Prosecutor Kirk Metzger asked the judge to hand down the Department of Correction’s recommended sentence of two years in prison, despite the fact that Bermudez had a clean criminal record prior to his arrest.

“The egregiousness of what he has done requires a very significant penalty,” Metzger said. “He violated the most fundamental tenet of being a father. His responsibility, above of all else, is to protect his son.”

Since the incident, Bermudez has lost custody of his son, and has not had contact with him since the child entered foster care, said his attorney, Paul Jancha.

Also sentenced Friday:

• Christopher Humphrey, 33, of Edwardsburg, to 365 days in jail for multiple charges, including possession of sexually abusive material of children.

• Danny Gene Hopper, 43, of Marcellus, to two years in prison for meth related charges.

• Joshua Andrew-James Faher, 29, of Dowagiac, to 30 days in jail and two years probation of operating while intoxicated.

• Juan Carlos Meza, 22, of Dowagiac, to two years probation for possession of marijuana and cocaine.

• Brent Andrew Morgan, 32, of Osceola, Ind., to two years in prison for multiple charges, including fleeing police and operating while intoxicated.

• Craig William Bent, 43, of Cassopolis, to 30 days in jail and 18 months probation for operating while intoxicated.