Federal Agent Faces Abuse Charges

SANTA ANA —  A 33-year-old federal drug agent and Anaheim resident is charged with felony child abuse after allegedly shaking his infant daughter so violently that the child suffered severe brain damage, an Orange County prosecutor said Friday.

Tony Gerard Bailey was released Friday from Orange County Jail after posting $75,000 bail following his arraignment Thursday on child abuse resulting in gross bodily injury, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Michelle Clesceri.

If convicted, the Los Angeles-based agent could face a maximum prison sentence of nine years, Clesceri said. Bailey is expected to appear in Orange County Superior Court on Nov. 13.

Clesceri declined to discuss details of the Aug. 5 incident that left Bailey’s then-5-month-old daughter with brain damage. She said the child’s mother--Bailey’s girlfriend, whose name was withheld--was not at their home at the time. Bailey could not be reached for comment.

The incident was reported to Anaheim police by doctors at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County who “were suspicious” after examining the child’s injuries. Shaken baby syndrome has been documented as a significant threat to infants, whose weak necks and large heads make them especially vulnerable when their brains bounce inside their skulls.

Bailey was interviewed by police at the hospital shortly after the incident, but the arrest and decision to seek criminal charges were made only after medical experts evaluated the girl’s injuries, Clesceri said.

Clesceri declined to discuss the child’s prognosis. The child’s name was also withheld.

Bailey’s duty weapon was seized by the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the eight-year veteran of the agency was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of his criminal case, according to DEA Special Agent Sharon Carter, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles office.

“This has hit us all in the hearts; it’s just so sad,” Carter said Friday. “As a mother of two, it’s just so hard to imagine this. People here are just really upset. We’re so sad for that little baby.”

Bailey has worked in the Los Angeles office, which has 200 agents, since completing the FBI Academy and short training period in another field office, Carter said. His duties have been those of a typical agent, including surveillance, drug arrests and undercover buys--and is known to his colleagues as a sharp-dresser and gregarious co-worker, she said.