ROCKVILLE, Md. – A Montgomery County man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for fatally shaking and hitting his five-month-old son.
Austin Ahimbisibwe had pleaded guilty to first-degree child abuse, resulting in death, for the June 23, 2016, incident involving his son, Hudson.
The boy’s mother, Lauren Felitti, had left Hudson with Ahimbisibwe in his apartment while she went to work.
“I never would have thought that when I dropped him off it would be the last time I’d see him alive,” Felitti told Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Carla Smith.
By 10:40 that morning, the boy’s father called 911, saying his son was unresponsive.
For more than four months, Ahimbisibwe denied hurting his son, and resumed spending time with Felitti and her parents.
Felitti and her family were consumed with grief, not knowing what happened to Hudson.
“He would just sit and agree with us that he didn’t understand why, and he wants answers as well, so he played along, very well,” said Felitti. “He never gave an inkling that he was the reason my son died.”
In October of that year, Felitti was asked by detectives to come to the police station with Ahimbisibwe.
“They sat me down and they gave me the file, I opened it, and it had ‘homicide’ written across the top,” Felitti told reporters after the sentencing. “I was in utter shock — they questioned Austin, and he confessed.”
Before sentencing, several friends and family members asked for leniency for Ahimbisibwe, saying he loved his son and was a warm, caring father and friend.
Ahimbisibwe apologized to his supporters and to his son: “Daddy’s sorry for his lack of composure.”
The young father said after his time in prison he hopes to form a foundation in his son’s name to warn of the dangers of shaken babies.
Ahimbisibwe’s lawyer Alex Foster told the judge that sentencing guidelines called for 12 to 20 years, and that his client was guilty of a mistake that lasted “only 10 seconds.”
Prosecutor Ryan Wechsler argued for the maximum penalty of 40 years.
In announcing her sentence, Smith said to Ahimbisibwe, “It wasn’t just 10 seconds — this was a lifetime of not managing your anger.”
“This wasn’t just an incident or just an event — it was a murder of your son,” Smith said.
Smith sentenced Ahimbisibwe to 40 years, but suspended 10 years “because you are 23; you are intelligent, and I believe you are remorseful.”
Ahimbisibwe could be eligible for release after 15 years in prison.
The judge reminded the baby’s father of the consequences of his actions.
“Hudson’s gone. He can’t come back, and you’re the one responsible for that.”
