CUMBERLAND COUNTY — An 18-year-old Maryland man has been charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, and endangering the welfare of children after police say he dipped an infant’s foot into scalding hot water because the girl was crying.
North Middleton Township Police say Jordan Gabriel Brown, of Aberdeen, Md, caused the infant to suffer second-degree burns to its left foot. Brown is a paramour of the child’s mother.
The incident happened on Feb. 13, police say.
The investigation began after police were alerted to the child’s injury by staff at the Lehigh Valley Hospital Burn Center, where the child was transported for treatment. Brown and the child’s mother initially took the child to UPMC Pinnacle Hospital in Carlisle at 10:27 p.m., police say.
According to police, the child had to be sedated due to the injury, which was diagnosed as a second-degree burn. Brown and the child’s mother told doctors the child had not been burned by hot water or grease, and that they believed the child was having an allergic reaction to a sock.
The child was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital on Feb. 14. Once there, Brown allegedly told staffers the blistering and redness could have been caused by hot water. He said he had taken the child, who was fussy, into the kitchen to prepare a bottle of milk. At the time, he said, the right side of the sink was filled with a bag of frozen meat that was thawing in hot water. Brown said as he reached for the child’s bottle, the child’s leg must have dipped into the water, causing it to suffer a burn.
Brown was interviewed by police on Feb. 15, and said the burn was caused by his recklessness. He did not want to admit he had placed the child’s foot in the water, police say.
Police say Brown attempted to cover the child’s burn by placing a sock on its foot. The baby’s mother only noticed the burn when she removed the sock, after noticing the child was not acting normal and crying louder than usual, police say.
Brown only told medical staff what he thought happened after staff told him the injury could only be caused by a burn, police say. He “attempted to conceal his reckless act,” police say in the complaint.
