Minn. man guilty of assaulting once-conjoined twin

A judge has found a North Mankato man guilty of assaulting his infant son three years ago, shortly after the boy was separated from his conjoined twin.

Robert Heck was handcuffed and taken into custody Monday minutes after the judge convicted him of first-degree assault following a two-week trial.

Judge Kevin Lund said he found the "brutality toward a defenseless 6-week-old, 5-pound baby boy numbing."

A defense attorney expects Lund will appeal. Lund's attorneys maintained that a bone disease was to blame for fractures suffered by the boy, then 2 months old.

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Doctors discovered 25 fractures in Jordan James' legs, ribs and arms. The boy had been surgically separated from his twin brother by Mayo Clinic doctors, then released in early 2007.

Sentencing is set for Aug. 9.

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Information from: The Rochester Post-Bulletin

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