Inset: Reece Sorenson (Facebook/Law & Crime Network). Background: Salem Hospital in Oregon, where Sorenson’s infant twins received treatment (Google Maps).
A former Oregon schoolteacher and United States Army veteran will serve a prison term for physically abusing his six‑week‑old twins and fracturing their bones. Among the assaults, he forced a “burp rag” into one infant’s mouth with such force that the child began bleeding and became “unable to suckle properly,” prosecutors reported.
Reece Sorenson, 29, of Salem, received a sentence of five years and six months in prison on Friday after pleading guilty in July to five counts of first‑degree criminal mistreatment, according to court records.
The Marion County District Attorney’s Office issued a press release announcing Sorenson’s sentence, noting that the charges arose from “multiple events” that led to his arrest in August 2025.
“At that time, Salem police detectives were called to Salem Hospital where Sorenson and his wife had brought their six‑week‑old twin children to the emergency room because one of the infants was unable to suckle properly,” the district attorney’s office stated. “While at the hospital, medical staff observed several concerning factors on both children.”
Medical staff determined that the first infant sustained four broken ribs in addition to the oral injury. The second infant suffered broken collarbones, twelve fractured ribs, and periorbital bruising, which the district attorney’s office described as “highly concerning for child physical abuse, especially in non‑mobile children.”
Although investigators could not ascertain the exact number of injuries inflicted on each child, variations in the healing process indicated that the abuse occurred across multiple incidents.
“Sorenson later admitted to using aggressive force on multiple separate occasions on both babies, causing the infants’ significant injuries,” the district attorney’s office reported. “Furthermore, the investigation revealed that he forcefully inserted a burp rag into one infant’s mouth to silence cries, resulting in the initial infant’s injury that prevented the child from sucking properly.”
Police disclosed that Sorenson confessed to squeezing his daughter’s twin brother with his forearms and pressing his knuckles into the child’s abdomen to stop the baby from crying, according to local CBS affiliate KATU. He told investigators that he stuffed the burp rag into his daughter’s mouth to halt her crying and screaming because he was exhausted and “at his wit’s end.”
Sorenson’s wife corroborated the abuse allegations, informing police that Sorenson behaved in a rough and aggressive manner toward the children, which made her feel that they were unsafe when left alone with him.
Hospital personnel reported that both infants were “ravenous and starving” during feedings and were severely malnourished. The babies flinched whenever staff attempted to feed them.
Authorities arrested Sorenson and charged him with multiple counts of first‑degree criminal mistreatment for “causing physical injury.” Prosecutors sought a 125‑month prison term, while the potential sentence ranged from probation to approximately 148 months.
Following his arrest, Sorenson resigned from his position as a mathematics teacher at Parrish Middle School. He had also served as a captain in the United States Army Reserve.
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