California boy now blind and quadriplegic -- authorities blame his parents' extreme health views [View all]

Parents who brought their unresponsive newborn to an Orange County hospital in 2020 were convicted of felony child abuse this week, on charges they exposed the baby to extreme heat and cold and failed to provide him necessary nourishment, causing severe brain damage that left the child a quadriplegic, and unable to talk or see.

John Andres Gonzalez, 38, and Jaqueline Navarro, 45, were each convicted of felony child abuse and endangerment, with an enhancement for causing great bodily injury to a child under 5, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office. They each face a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison.

Prosecutors said the couple considered themselves “vegan mucus-free fruitarians,” which appears to refer to belief in a diet aimed at removing mucus from the body. They were also followers of naturopathy, prosecutors said, which typically means employing a more holistic approach to preventing and treating disease by addressing root causes.

But Gonzalez and Navarro appeared to employ misguided and extreme views related to these practices, including that the body could heal itself and that breast milk was toxic, according to prosecutors and lawsuits about the case. They would only feed the baby soy-based formula, fruits and vegetables, prosecutors said. In a lawsuit, his paternal grandmother said the couple tried to keep the baby on a plant-based diet, and primarily fed him blended bananas and dates with honey.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-07-02/young-boy-now-a-blind-quadriplegic-authorities-blame-his-parents-extreme-health-views