Ex-Marblehead dad pleads guilty in child abuse case

SALEM – A former Marblehead father who admitted stuffing a baby wipe into the mouth of his 7-week-old son and dropping him to the floor because he would not stop crying may serve up to two and a half years in state prison and then be on probation for another four years.Dario Finkel, 26, who had been living at 1000 Loring Ave., Unit B105, in Salem, formerly of 89 Elm Street, Marblehead, pleaded guilty Monday afternoon in Salem Superior Court to two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of assault and battery and a single count of child endangerment.Finkel, who said he worked as a transportation driver for pre-school, was sentenced to serve not less than two years and not more than two and a half years in state prison by Judge John T. Lu.Upon his release from prison, Finkel will be on probation for another four years at which time he must provide a DNA blood sample for the state-wide data bank, not have any unsupervised contact with children under the age of 14, comply with any court orders of Probate, Juvenile or Family Court, not abuse his son, be evaluated for psychological counseling and treatment and complete a parenting program and any other programs ordered by the Department of Family & Children Services.The charges arise out of incidents on or about April 19 when Finkel stuffed a baby wipe down his infant son Michael’s throat, dropped him on the floor face down and tossed him at his wife, because he would not stop crying.After the incident, the mother waited until Finkel was asleep and ran with her son to a neighbor in the building for help.The infant suffered a rug burn on his lip and some bruising, but seemed relatively healthy otherwise, said Assistant District Attorney Kate B. MacDougall, who asked for a longer punishment of four to six years in state prison with five years of probation.MacDougall stated her recommendation was based on the nature of the offense, particularly because of the age of the child, noting that although the infant was not physically harmed he has since been in the custody of a paternal aunt and, at first, was easily “agitated,” but is now a different child.