Man Denies Battering Infant

A 21-year-old Ventura-area man suspected of shaking his 3-month-old son so hard that the boy was left blind and brain damaged pleaded not guilty Friday to two counts of child abuse.

Donald Ray Boyd, who appeared for arraignment in Ventura County Municipal Court, remains in jail on $15,000 bail.

Boyd was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of battering his son, Jacob Payne, in September.

The baby, who is in a foster home, is blind in both eyes. In addition, the infant suffered brain damage that has affected his motor skills, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Frawley said. The 8-month-old infant is not yet able to turn himself over, Frawley said.

Boyd had been watching the baby for nine hours while his girlfriend, Cynthia Payne, 20, was working at a McDonald’s restaurant, deputies said.

When Payne returned from work at 6 p.m., she discovered that the baby was nearly comatose, investigators said.

The child was taken to Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura and then flown by helicopter to Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested Boyd the night of the incident, but he was released because the district attorney’s office was not able to charge him within 48 hours of his arrest.