A Lowell man was arrested for bathing a baby boy in water so hot it left him with second-degree burns over more than half of his body, police said. Seiha Vorn, 27, of Lowell is charged with assault and battery on a child, said Lowell police Lt. Jim Hodgdon. He said the case was investigated by the family services unit as well as the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.
However, hours after the scalding, Lowell Fire Department Deputy Chief Jeff Winward told the Herald the injuries appeared to come from a faulty faucet that was dripping hot water onto the child, who was being bathed in lukewarm water.
Winward said the incident appeared to be an accident.
“The parents were giving him a bath in the bathtub,” he said. “Hot water was dripping onto the kid’s legs. It sounds like it’s accidental.”
Vorn is the boyfriend of the baby’s mother. Winward said the boy did not begin to cry until after he was removed from the bath.
The Lowell Sun reported the boy suffered blisters and peeled skin.
Hodgdon yesterday said police are the investigating authority, not the fire department.
“We did the investigation,” he said. “I don’t know how the fire department gets their information.”
The boy suffered burns to more than 60 percent of his body. He was flown by helicopter from Lowell to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he is in critical condition with non-life-threatening injuries.
A Lowell man is scheduled to face charges that he seriously scalded his girlfriend’s 11-month-old son.
Police say Seiha Vorn is expected to be arraigned Monday in Lowell District Court on a charge of assault and battery on a child .
Authorities say the 27-year-old man was giving the baby a bath last Wednesday and when the mother came in the dry the child off with a towel, the baby’s skin began peeling off. The baby, identified by police as Ivan Yonn, was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston with second-degree burns over 60 percent of his body. Police say he remains in critical condition.
Police say Vorn is not the baby’s biological father
A Lowell man appeared in court on Monday after being accused of severely scalding his girlfriend's 11-month-old baby.
Seiha Vorn is facing charges of assault and battery on a child, according to police. He is being held on $1,000 bail and the condition that he stays away from the baby and his family.
Authorities said the 27-year-old man was giving the baby a bath last Wednesday and when the mother came in to dry the child off with a towel, the baby's skin began peeling off. The baby, identified by police as Ivan Yonn, was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston with second-degree burns over 60 percent of his body. Police said he remains in critical condition