Man previously sentenced to 35 years in jail for ‘shaken baby syndrome’ death cleared of wrongdoing

A Dallas County man previously convicted in 2000 of injuring a child due to "shaken baby syndrome” was declared innocent on Monday.

Andrew Wayne Roark, now 48, was convicted after a medical exam found his girlfriend's 1-year-old child was violently shaken, which had caused permanent brain damage. Roark was sentenced to 35 years in prison. 

“There exists no evidence in which we could support a conviction and believe Mr. Roark is actually innocent,” Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said in a statement. “We firmly believe would the same facts and circumstances occur today, Mr. Roark would be acquitted of any charges brought against him, therefore he should enjoy the presumption of innocence.”

According to the Dallas Morning News, Gary Udashen, Roark’s appellate lawyer, said the child "fell and hit her head on a coffee table weeks before she was rushed to the hospital." 

In 2012, Roark was released on bond after lawyers agreed to a new trial.