Infant beating: South Setauket father Vincent DiStasi sentenced to 17 years for assaulting newborn son

A South Setauket man was sentenced Thursday to 17 years in prison for severely beating his infant son.

Vincent DiStasi, 33, surrendered Thursday in a Riverhead court, where a judge pronounced his sentence after DiStasi pleaded guilty in June to first-degree assault in the beating of his 5-week-old son.

Judge Richard Ambro sentenced DiStasi to prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release. He also issued two permanent orders of protection for DiStasi’s two children.

"Mr. DiStasi, I know you’re remorseful, but this was a reprehensible act," Ambro told him in court. "The injuries to your son are devastating, and we won’t know the full extent for many years."

Prosecutors said in January 2024, DiStasi punched, strangled, smothered and violently shook the baby, requiring emergency brain surgery and life support.

DiStasi’s attorney, Anthony La Pinta, said the child is now about 18 months old and is recovering beyond initial expectations.

Authorities said the boy may suffer from some of the injuries for the rest of his life.

A home video surveillance system showed DiStasi beating and smothering the baby in the first weeks he came home, prosecutors said.

Doctors also found the baby with broken ribs, both arms broken and bleeding in his brain that required a portion of his skull to be removed to alleviate swelling, district attorney officials said.

Some of the injuries were still healing, indicating prolonged abuse, prosecutors said. DiStasi also had a 2-year-old daughter who authorities said witnessed the abuse.

"The prognosis may be improving, but it’s all still very unknown," Ambro told DiStasi. "I know you and your son will have to live with the consequences of your actions for the rest of your lives."

La Pinta said DiStasi has had no contact with his wife or children since the assault. They were not in court Thursday.

DiStasi appeared in court wearing a white jumpsuit while his parents sat crying in the back of the courtroom.

The case was prosecuted by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office due to an unspecified conflict of interest.

Prosecutors initially sought a 19-year prison sentence. Prosecutors said the baby has not met infant milestones, including being able to sit up or speak.

"Vincent DiStasi’s sadistic and repeated abuse of his tiny infant son was barbaric and forever changed the course of the child’s life," Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement Thursday. "There are truly no words to describe the horror of this defendant’s actions — a man so violent he could beat up on a five-week-old baby again and again without remorse."

DiStasi addressed the court for the first time Thursday, expressing remorse for his actions that he said were done while he was feeling suicidal.

He said he hoped to one day see his children again.

"These actions I caused are not who I am. I love my children more than anything. I was just in a bad mental state," DiStasi said. "All I can hope for moving forward is to reunite and be the best person and father to them that I can be, and that’s what I look forward to today."

La Pinta said DiStasi has been receiving psychological treatment since his arrest that he hopes will continue while he is in prison.

"The facts here are, in my opinion, the result of a really difficult psychological time that he was enduring. No one should be judged solely by the worst thing they do in life," La Pinta said.

"This man has been a gentle soul all his life and these actions are a product of intense pressure, anxiety and depression he was enduring at the time," he said.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.