Jealous dad gets 10-20 years for son's abuse
Ryan T. Junglas' mom asked for a lengthy sentence for man who battles mental disorders.
- http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a8_5junglas.6961544jul17,0,648494.storyBy Kevin Amerman | OF THE MORNING CALL
- July 17, 2009
Ryan T. Junglas grabbed a baby doll and shook it violently, showing investigators how he manhandled his son last year during the boy's first few months of life.
After the doll's head stopped flailing around, the 21-year-old head-butted the doll, karate-chopped it, bit it and threw it down. He spoke to police in a matter-of-fact tone, saying he knew how serious the damage from the attacks could be.
The disturbing police video was shown Thursday to Lehigh County Judge Maria L. Dantos, who sentenced Junglas, who has battled mental disorders since childhood, to 10 to 20 years in state prison. It was the maximum Junglas could have received after pleading guilty to aggravated assault in March.
''His intention was to cause harm to the most vulnerable victim imaginable,'' the judge said.''What you did to that baby was not human.''
She also ordered Junglas to have no contact with his son.
Police say he harmed his baby because he was envious of the attention the child was receiving.
Allentown police received information about the abuse Oct. 27, 2008, after the baby was taken to St. Luke's Hospital-Fountain Hill. Police say the baby had three broken ribs and a broken leg.
From mid-August to October of last year, Junglas shook his son for five minutes at a time, head-butted him, plucked his eyelashes and attempted to suffocate him with a pillow, according to police.
Junglas' mother, who now has custody of the almost 1-year-old boy, asked Dantos for a lengthy prison sentence for her son and only child. She said she realizes a baby abuser may be targeted in state prison and she doesn't necessarily think that's a bad thing.
''A part of me thinks an eye for an eye isn't such a bad idea,'' Valerie Butz told the judge. When asked what her relationship was to Junglas, she replied, ''I gave birth to him.''
Butz said the boy is recovering and doesn't have brain damage.
Junglas told the judge: ''I honestly feel like a monster. I would do anything for my child, but it was so hard to control myself. I kick my own butt daily for what I did and for hurting something so tiny and perfect.''
Junglas suffers from multiple ailments, including bipolar disorder, according to clinical psychologist Frank Dattilio. Junglas has received psychological treatment at 30 different hospitals and institutions, but has never been properly treated, Dattilio said.
Dattilio said some of the behavior can be traced to a poor childhood in which Junglas' father wasn't there and his mother sometimes treated him like a baby and other times expected him to act grown up. Dattilio said Junglas has also had hallucinations.
kevin.amerman@mcall.com
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