A Windham man convicted of breaking six ribs and the tailbone of his infant son has been sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison.

“There are no winners in a case like this. It’s just a matter of attempting to provide justice for a 6-month-old child,” said County Attorney James Reams after the sentencing, calling the case one of the most tragic cases he’s ever prosecuted.

In November 2007, Gurrie Fandozzi, 42, was convicted on first-degree assault charges stemming from an August 2006 incident. Emergency responders arrived at Fandozzi’s Windham home at 20 Squire Armour Road to find the Fandozzis’ infant son unconscious and not breathing.

After a medical examination, 26 bones in the baby’s body were found to either be broken or healing from prior breaks, county prosecutors argued in Rockingham Superior Court.

About two weeks after the Aug. 2 incident, Windham Police Chief Gerald Lewis declared that doctors performing the examination determined the broken bones were a result of repeated abuse.

The jury found Fandozzi, a former Connecticut lawyer, guilty of breaking seven out of the 26 bones.

“I guess I understand the jury’s sense of why they convicted him for the specific bones that they did,” Reams said. “It had to do with the doctor’s testimony about how the ribs were squeezed. It was pretty compelling testimony.”

Doctors said the injuries Fandozzi was convicted of inflicting resulted from squeezing the child too hard and thumping him down on his bottom.

During the trial, Dr. Alice Newton of Children’s Hospital told the court the injuries indicated the baby had been abused at least twice.

Reams said there was “some ambiguity” remaining about the cause of the 19 other broken bones, providing reasonable doubt.

Fandozzi’s lawyer, Salem attorney Salem Shadallah, argued at the sentencing hearing on Thursday, June 5, that Judge Tina Nadeau should take into account that the jury did not convict Fandozzi of breaking all 26 bones.

Shadallah could not be reached for comment by press time.

Reams said Shadallah informed him that an appeal would likely be filed. Before that can happen, Shadallah must ask for a new trial. The whole process could take about 45 days, Reams said.

Prosecutors had asked for 20 to 40 years in the sentencing hearing, but Reams said the 15- to 30-year sentence is still significant, given the charges and the fact that this is the first case of its kind in a long time to go to trial.

“That would send a message to him and to anyone else that was thinking of harming their child,” Reams said.

Fandozzi’s 4-year-old child was examined during the course of the investigation, and no evidence of abuse was found.

Fandozzi’s wife, Tammy Fandozzi, was never considered a suspect in the case, Reams said. The two children are in their mother’s custody, and Nadeau issued a protective order preventing Fandozzi from having unsupervised visit with his children while he’s serving his time pending a mental evaluation.