‘I will never forgive him’: Woonsocket father reacts to sentencing of son’s abuser

After a judge Monday sentenced a 27 year-old Woonsocket man to serve seven years in prison for beating a baby, the boy’s father said he doesn’t believe it’s a harsh enough penalty for the pain he caused his son and his family.

It all started back in March 2017 when Casey Wilder and his wife went on a date night to a Celtics game. It was the first time the couple was able to have a date night after their then five month-old son Jacob was born.

The Wilders left Jacob in the care of Kristofer Bernier, a trusted friend who moved in with the Woonsocket family after a break-up with his girlfriend.

“I got to know the guy. We became friends,” Casey Wilder said, Jacob’s father. “It’s been very hard to find and trust a babysitter.”

You can certainly understand why. At around 6:30 p.m. first responders got a call about Jacob falling off a couch, but the injuries were very severe. 

Jacob suffered a fractured skull, intra-retinal hemorrhages, a subdural hematoma and multiple bruises all over his body.

“Seeing the condition my son was in, I knew it had to be more than just falling off the couch,” Wilder said. “Why did you do such a thing to an innocent five-month old baby who can’t defend himself?”

Bernier eventually told police that he ‘lost it’ on Jacob for crying, hitting him several times with an open hand, dropping him on the coffee table and then the floor.

Incredibly, thanks to support from friends, family and strangers as far as Spain, Jacob is now almost two and has made an incredible recovery. His father said his health and development is going well.

In a plea deal, Bernier was sentenced to serve seven years behind bars for two counts of second degree child abuse. He will be placed on probation for another eight years when he’s released.

Wilder read a statement in the courtroom, saying it took everything in his power not to lash out at the man he once called a friend.

“I trusted you like my brother. You were my good friend. I took you in,” Wilder told ABC 6. “I’ll never forgive Kristofer for beating on Jacob.”

Wilder said that doctors told him Jacob is right on track with development and they’re almost certain the boy did not suffer any permanent damage from that brutal attack.