PETOSKEY, MI -- It’s a parent’s worst nightmare -- a baby-sitter abusing your child.
That’s exactly what one man says happened to his baby boy.
Wednesday afternoon, the man accused of shaking a child faced a judge.
27 year-old Petoskey resident Cody Mork is charged with child abuse.
Prosecutors say Mork shook three month old Satavian Rostar, causing life-changing injuries.
The boy is now blind and has severe head trauma.
The child's father, Devin Rostar, says Mork was babysitting one year ago when the crime took place.
Rostar recalls noticing Satavian acting unusual when he picked him up, so he took him to the hospital and discovered his new son had a fractured pelvis and head injuries.
Mork was charged with first and second degree child abuse, both felonies, and as a habitual offender.
The Emmet County Assistant Prosecutor called several witnesses to the stand Wednesday at Mork's preliminary hearing, trying to put together a strong enough case for it to move forward. However, defense attorney Bryan Klawuhn says he doesn't think it's there.
Cody Mork sat quiet next to his lawyer as the judge listened to witnesses testify about what they remember about a Saturday last August. Mork is charged with first and second degree child abuse, for allegedly shaking then-three month old Satavian Rostar.
"It’s a big relief, I mean I’m not totally happy yet until it's all done with," said Satavian’s father Devin Rostar.
Satavian, now 15 months old, is blind and has severe head trauma. Rostar, along with Petoskey Department of Public Safety Detective David Schultz, believe Satavian was shaken.
“I think people need to hear what happened, the judge needs to here the facts that we were able to establish, because of the nature of the injuries to the child and because of the young age," said Detective Schultz.
Mork's wife Kathleen took the stand, saying she thought Satavian had problems before.
“He slept all night, which wasn't common to me, I wasn't used to that, because usually babies get up every couple of hours to eat, his eyes, don't focus on things," said Kathleen Mork.
Devin's aunt Ruth Charbonneau remembered what she saw when Devin dropped Satavian off after picking him up from the Mork's.
“Tell him there's something wrong with the baby, when he came in, he picked him up, his head was floppy, and his lips were turning a different color, he had a bruise on his lip," said an emotional Charbonneau.
“Kissed him, hugged him, nuzzled him, trying to get him to wake up, he would wake up, his eyes would roll back into his head, and he'd fall asleep," said Devin while on the stand.
Mork's attorney says he doesn't think there's enough for this case to go to trial.
"I think the case itself will show itself to be what it is. You know, unfortunately, when the facts are all out, a cleaner picture will develop as to what happened in this case," said Bryan Klawuhn.
The judge heard witness testimony in court today, but a decision of whether or not this case will move to trial won't be made until medical witnesses take the stand, and there's no timetable for that.
