Man pleads innocent to burning child

The Daily Inter Lake

Boy still being treated for burns

A Whitefish man has pleaded innocent to forcing his girlfriend's 5-year-old child into a bathtub full of scalding water, severely burning the boy.

Juan Vasquez, 27, entered not guilty pleas to one count of aggravated assault and one count of criminal endangerment, both felonies, during his arraignment Wednesday in Flathead County District Court.

Vasquez, who was arrested Dec. 10 at his father's home northwest of Whitefish, is incarcerated in the Flathead County Detention Center.

The boy, who suffered second- and third-degree burns to more than 40 percent of his body, is being treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

According to court documents, Whitefish police responded to the boy's Ramsey Avenue residence on Oct. 24. Vasquez, who was in a relationship with the boy's mother, was taking care of the child at her home.

In interviews with a detective from the Seattle Police Department, the boy said that Vasquez put him in the bathtub of scalding water and then forced him to stay there, despite his screams.

The boy told investigators he had to take the bath because he threw up after eating.

A doctor and child-abuse expert at Harborview, where the boy was taken the day after being burned, told investigators the pattern of burns on the boy's body is consistent with forced immersion.

The boy has spent weeks in the hospital, including a stint in the intensive-care unit, and has undergone skin grafts. The burns reportedly cover large portions of his lower body.

If convicted, Vasquez could face up to 30 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. He has yet to be arraigned.