Who:
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Investigative Operations Bureau
- Crimes Against Children Unit

Joseph Lusardi (Father- Arrested)
DOB: 8/1/1993
Charges: One count of Child Neglect.

Bethany Valenti-Drake (Mother)
DOB: 11/05/1997

The victim is a 3-month-old boy. Per Florida Statute 119.071(2)(h)1, no further information will be released that would tend to identify the victim.

What:
Detectives assigned to the Crimes Against Children Unit arrested a Palm Harbor man after he failed to inform medical staff of a head injury to a 3-month-old child.

When:
The incidents occurred between October 20, 2017 and October 23, 2017.

The suspect was arrested at about 7:50 p.m. on October 31, 2017.

Where:
The incidents occurred in Pinellas County.

Why/How:
Detectives assigned to the Crimes Against Children Unit arrested a Palm Harbor man after he failed to inform medical staff of a head injury to a 3-month-old child.

Deputies began the initial investigation on October 25, 2017, when they were called to Mease Countryside Hospital for a 3-month-old child that was admitted to the hospital for seizure like symptoms and vomiting.

The child was examined by the Child Protection Team on October 31, 2017 and the case was then turned over to detectives in the Crimes Against Children Unit. 

Through investigation, detectives learned that the father of the child, 24-year-old Joseph Lusardi, called 911 on October 20, 2017, to report that the child was suffering from seizure like symptoms. The child was transported to the hospital and was released on October 21, 2017, after receiving treatment for what doctors thought was acid reflux.

On October 22, 2017, the child’s mother 19-year-old Bethany Valenti-Drake, transported the child to After Hours Pediatric Urgent Care in Palm Harbor because the child was vomiting and not eating normally. On the advice of doctors at the urgent care center, Valenti-Drake transported the child back to Mease Countryside Hospital where the child was re-admitted to the hospital.

Detectives say on October 23, 2017, while the victim was still in the hospital, Lusardi told Valenti-Drake that the child had fallen off a table while strapped in a car seat on October 20, 2017. Valenti-Drake immediately informed hospital staff of the fall and a CT scan was ordered.

Doctors confirmed the child suffered from hemorrhaging on the brain and a skull fracture. The child was transferred to All Children’s Hospital for further medical treatment.

Detectives say Lusardi told deputies on October 25, 2017, that he was at home alone caring for the child on October 20, 2017, when the child fell off a table while strapped in his car seat. Lusardi admitted to deputies that he withheld the information about the fall because he was scared.

On October 31, 2017, detectives arrested Lusardi and transported him to the Pinellas County Jail without incident.

Lusardi was charged with one count of neglect of a child.

The child remains at All Children’s Hospital.

The investigation continues.  

Booking photo of Joseph Lusardi.