Man Who Allegedly Beat Baby May Get Off Scot-Free, Because His Young Victim Can't Speak

Anguished parents are in shock after babysitter who allegedly beat up their son may walk because the child can't testify.

Photographs of a battered and bruised baby are churning outrage on the Internet, as well as the possibility that the man allegedly responsible may never face charges.

Joshua Marbury and Alicia Quinney, the parents of 1-year-old Jacob, have taken to social media with disturbing and heartbreaking photos of their little boy’s face covered in bruises and marks they say were caused by a babysitter.

Read: Babysitter charged with Abducting and Beating Girl, 2, Who Was Found Naked on Roadside

“The whole side of his face black and blue,” his mom told Inside Edition. “His arm was bruised. The next day, bruises on his back showed up. He had marks under his eye, in his eye. His ear had a bunch of marks in it.

The baby also had a black eye.

The couple says they became enraged when a local prosecutor told them the case would be hard to prove because baby Jacob is too young to describe what happened.

His parents believe a family friend, who was babysitting Jacob, is responsible for his injuries. They say the man has fled to California.

State law requires prosecutors to prove an abused child experienced “substantial pain” before an adult can be convicted of felony assault or criminal mistreatment, OregonLive reported.  Appellate rulings have made that hard to document if the child can’t articulate their suffering.

Read: A California Babysitter Pleads Not Guilty to Trying to Smother Baby in Nanny-Cam 
Case

Marbury posted his son’s photos on Facebook, writing, “I am SO furious.” Since Friday, it has been shared nearly 300,000 times.

Washington County Deputy District Attorney Dustin Staten told the news site he hadn’t seen the photos that Marbury posted online.

"Seeing those photos has caused me to want to take a different path," Staten told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Relatives have set up a #JusticeforJacob Go Fund Me page to offset the cost of household expenses, counseling and attorney fees.

Watch: Babysitter Robs Bank While Watching Two Little Kids, Police Say