OXNARD : Man Convicted in Child Abuse Case

A 22-year-old Oxnard man has been convicted of five counts of felony child abuse against his infant son, authorities said Friday.

Tracy Holt Sr., a former Seabee at the Port Hueneme Naval Construction Battalion Center, began abusing his son when the baby was 2 months old and injured him in several incidents between July and September, 1991, Deputy Dist. Atty. Mary Peace said.

“The medical testimony showed that the injuries had occurred on a number of different days,” Peace said. “It was not one incident.”

Doctors discovered in a July, 1991, checkup that Tracy Holt Jr. had a broken rib and a broken right wrist. In September, doctors found that the baby had a broken collarbone, thighbone and left wrist, Peace said.

According to his estranged wife, Lavonya Holt, Holt told her he hurt the baby in an attempt to make him cry so he would go to sleep, Peace said. The baby is now in the care of Lavonya Holt.

Holt did not testify during the two-day non-jury trial in Ventura County Superior Count, Peace said.

Police said Holt pleaded guilty in a similar offense involving another infant in 1990 and was put on probation. Holt is being held in lieu of $25,000 bail at Ventura County Jail. He will be sentenced April 17 and faces up to 11 years, 4 months in prison, Peace said.