Former Wyoming Cop Charged With Aggravated Child Abuse
Documents recently filed in Natrona County District Court allege that a Casper man and former Wyoming sheriff's deputy abused an infant so severely that the child had to be airlifted to a hospital in Denver due to life-threatening injuries.
Jarrett Gage Vargas is charged with a count each of child abuse and aggravated child abuse. If convicted, he could face more than two decades behind bars.
Vargas served as a sheriff's deputy in Fremont County, the sheriff's office there told K2 Radio News.
He has not had an opportunity to enter pleas to the charges.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, police were called to investigate after a baby born in 2021 was taken to the hospital and being treated. The affidavit states the infant was suffering from a subdural hematoma.
The infant was flown to Denver Children's hospital, court documents state.
According to the affidavit, the baby suffered a seizure prior to being taken to the hospital in Casper.
Court documents allege that the doctor who treated the infant told investigators that the baby's injuries were consistent with being shaken. The child also displayed an older brain injury that was beginning to heal.
According to court documents, the doctor told investigators that the child's injuries were life-threatening
The affidavit states Vargas told investigators that he used to be a sheriff's deputy in Fremont County and worked in the detention center and as a patrol deputy.
Vargas reportedly told investigators that he was becoming tired and frustrated with being a foster parent. Court documents state that he told investigators it constantly seemed there were babies in his house.
Asked how the infant suffered the injuries, Vargas reportedly told investigators that he picked the child up from a swing and "aggressively shook him" and continued to shake the baby as he carried him to a bedroom.
The affidavit states Vargas demonstrated how he shook the infant with a doll. He reportedly told investigators he did so to get the child to stop moving his head around.