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LITCHFIELD, Minn. 鈥� A 26-year-old Litchfield man has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for causing permanent, severe brain damage to his infant son.

During a sentencing hearing Thursday, Jan. 2, in Meeker County District Court, Judge Stephanie Beckman sentenced Daniel Martinez Damian to 206 months in the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud.

Martinez Damian was given credit for 71 days served.

The sentence is an upward departure from the state鈥檚 sentencing guidelines.

The Meeker County Attorney鈥檚 Office had sought an increased sentence because of the age and vulnerability of the victim, who was 5 months old when the assault happened in November 2017.

Prior to the sentencing hearing, family, friends and co-workers of Martinez Damian had written letters of support to the court, praising his kindness, work ethic and love of family 鈥� including his children.

A letter sent to the court Dec. 31 from Meeker County Attorney Brandi Schiefelbein indicated her office intended to refute 鈥渁ny mitigating circumstances at sentencing鈥� through testimony by several individuals.

In October, a Meeker County jury found Martinez Damian guilty of a felony charge of first-degree assault causing great bodily harm.

According to court records, the child and a sibling were in Martinez Damian鈥檚 care on Nov. 7, 2017, when the baby was taken to the hospital in Litchfield with a pulse, but he was unresponsive.

After a CT scan revealed a cerebral bleed, the child was taken to Children鈥檚 Hospital in Minneapolis. He underwent emergency surgery to remove a portion of his skull to relieve pressure on his brain.

According to court records, the infant, who was just beginning to roll over, had been in the care of his father after his mother went to work in the morning.

Martinez Damian reportedly told authorities the baby was fussing in an infant swing and continued to fuss when his father put him down for tummy time.

After putting the baby back into his swing, Martinez Damian went to fix a bottle. When he returned, he said, the baby had arched his back, and his eyes were rolled back, according to court records.

Martinez Damian said he shook the baby gently and called his name. He did CPR on the baby, who began to breathe again in about 15 seconds, and then called a relative for a ride to the hospital.

Martinez Damian told authorities he鈥檇 had two or three beers that morning and admitted to shaking the infant gently to wake him up, according to court records.

A child abuse pediatrician reportedly found no medical cause for the child鈥檚 severe neck and brain injuries and said that trauma was the mostly likely explanation for the child鈥檚 injuries.

Attempts to reach the Meeker County attorney, as well as the defense attorney for Martinez Damian, on Thursday night were not successful.