Toddler's mom says scalding was an accident

YAKIMA, Wash. -- The mother of a child being treated in the burn unit at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle insists that what happened to her daughter was an accident.

The police detectives who arrested her 20-year-old boyfriend allege it was abuse that occurred when the child was put into scalding water in a bathtub, possibly as punishment for wetting her pants.

The girl, who will turn 3 in June, is improving and able to walk, according to her father, Marc Nelson of Lewiston, Idaho, who is with her. Nelson said doctors are optimistic that his daughter may be released from the hospital this weekend, to return to Idaho with him.

The girl's 27-year-old mother said state Child Protective Services is not allowing her to have any contact with the child, who was transferred to Harborview on Friday after spending several days at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital.

In an interview Tuesday, the mother also said she was upset that her two older daughters, ages 6 and 7, have been temporarily removed from her home by CPS at the direction of Yakima police Detective Chad Janis, one of the investigators on the case. The girls are staying with their father, who lives in the Yakima area.

"We looked at everything and felt it was the best thing to do, given the circumstances we had and the serious nature of this assault," said Sgt. Mike Pollard, supervisor of the Special Assaults Unit where Janis works.

The incident happened April 19, when the mother was at work and her boyfriend was watching the little girl at the duplex where they live in the 700 block of South 45th Avenue.

According to police reports and the mother, the boyfriend said he was filling the tub to take a bath himself late that morning, and that while he was out of the bathroom answering a phone call, the girl undressed herself and climbed in the tub. He texted the mother to let her know the girl had accidentally got in the hot water, then got the child dressed and thought she was all right.

Pollard said investigators arrested the boyfriend Friday, several days after the incident, because "there were some things (in his story) that didn't hold up, some key issues that just did not ... make any sense."

The boyfriend faces possible felony child abuse charges and is being held on $100,000 bond.

The girl's mother disputes the allegations made by police. She said when her boyfriend heard the child scream, he rushed in and lifted her out of the tub.

"I would not leave my children in the hands of someone who would hurt them," she said.

When she got home from work, she checked her daughter and noticed blistering on her skin, so she took her to the hospital.

The water in the tub was hot enough to scald the child, the mother said, because the temperature on the rented home's water heater was set significantly higher than the recommended 120 degrees, according to testing done on the unit after the child was burned.

Doctors treating the girl found she also had bruises on her face and a recently broken clavicle. The mother said her daughter's bruises were from being hit by a swing at a family gathering, and that the clavicle fracture was likely caused by an oversize helmet the girl was wearing while riding on a four-wheel ATV with her mother on a camping trip the weekend before the tub incident.

The boyfriend's mother said he used to help her when she ran an in-home day care. She said he used to babysit the children of one of his high school teachers and "has always been great with kids."

The woman said her son stopped by her house briefly with the little girl later on the day of the bath incident, and the child was not crying and did not appear in distress.

The woman also said it's important for parents and caregivers to make sure water heaters are set at the proper temperature to prevent accidental scaldings.

As for the child who was burned, the suspect's mother said, "I think it's very unfortunate she doesn't have her mommy with her right now."