Parents of baby girl who suffered burns to 42% of her body after being submerged in scalding water sentenced by Malaga court
The child's father was found guilty of the offences of ill-treatment, domestic violence and bodily harm, while the mother was only accused of the first two
She was only 47 days old when her mother took her to Hospital Materno Infantil in Malaga city. The baby had sustained deep second-degree burns that covered 42% of her body. According to the Malaga provincial court, it was the child's father who had caused the serious injuries after submerging her in scalding water. The child was placed in water reaching 45C for an hour and a half and then for 17 seconds at 55C. The bench heard that it was not the only episode of mistreatment suffered by the child and her sister.
The ruling also listed other injuries caused by the defendants. The baby suffered from severe malnutrition and mild to moderate dehydration during the first days of her life. As a result, she had to be admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit (ICU) for 90 days on three separate occasions. After her discharge, she continued undergoing traumatological, digestive, plastic surgery and rehabilitation treatments.
Although the precise extent of the consequences has not been determined, the court stated that the aesthetic damage caused by the burns is significant. In addition, the burnt areas have caused retractions in some joints, with those in the lower left limb being particularly serious. Despite the surgical treatment, the recovery "is not progressing well".
Prior to these events, the doctors at Hospital de la Axarquía found two injuries on the front of the left thigh of the couple's first daughter, who was two years old at the time. The wounds were compatible with cigarette burns. According to the judgement, these were caused by the parents by mutual agreement.
'Baby burns, baby hurts'
The child protection service initiated a provisional procedure to declare abandonment. Meanwhile, the child underwent a psychological report to assess whether she showed symptoms of habitual abuse. Although it was not possible to determine this due to her level of maturity, the foster mother stated that she had arrived frightened and fearful of any new events of abuse, "crouching down and covering her head". She also said that the girl suffered from night terrors during which she would say: "Baby burns, baby hurts."
The Malaga court sentenced the father to 16 years in prison for the following crimes: habitual ill-treatment (three years), domestic violence with the aggravating circumstance of premeditation (one year) and assault causing injury with the aggravating circumstances of kinship and premeditation (12 years). He has also been banned from coming within 500 metres of the child's location or communicating with her by any means for a period of 19 years.
As for the mother, the court ruled that she was only responsible for the first two offences and was therefore acquitted of the offence of injury of which she had been accused by the prosecution. Her sentence amounts to four years.
