A Tarrant County jury sentenced Ivan Ssenengo to 27 years in prison this week after finding him guilty of aggravated assault of a family member causing serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon, a case rooted in the assault of a two-month-old infant that left the baby with multiple skull fractures and a traumatic brain injury. The sentence stems from an assault that prosecutors say happened in March 2025.
According to the Tarrant County DA, Ssenengo was tried in the 213th District Court, where court trial records confirm the case was formally charged as injury to a child with intent to cause serious bodily injury or mental impairment, per Tarrant County court records. Defense attorneys Rob Hayden and Rob Cowie represented Ssenengo during the trial, the same records show. The 213th District Court sits on the 8th floor of the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center at 401 W. Belknap St. in Fort Worth, where State District Judge Michael Ferry presides over felony cases.
Every Child Matters. pic.twitter.com/PV0P0cIzSY
— Tarrant County DA (@TarrantCountyDA) August 11, 2026
Assistant District Attorneys Steven Elliott and Alexander Trono prosecuted the case, with Investigator Brent Ezelle and Victim Coordinator Carma Anderson also assigned to it, the Tarrant County DA’s post states. The office publicly thanked Detective Thedford and the Arlington Police Department, which investigated the case, for their work and their commitment to community safety. Ssenengo faced a first-degree felony penalty range, since Texas Penal Code § 22.04 classifies intentionally or knowingly causing serious bodily injury to a child under 15 as a first-degree felony carrying a sentencing range of 5 to 99 years or life in prison, along with a fine of up to $10,000, according to legal analysis of the statute.
How Tarrant County Prosecutes Crimes Against Children
The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Special Victims Unit handles crimes against children through multi-disciplinary teams that bring together local police departments, Cook Children’s Medical Center, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, and Alliance for Children, according to Tarrant County. Under District Attorney Phil Sorrells, who has led the office since January 2023, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office processes more than 45,000 criminal case filings annually out of the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center, per the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office…