A Mesa woman has been charged with burning a 3-month-old baby's hand and arm with scalding water.
According to court documents, the baby boy was taken to a burn unit in Maricopa County with burns to his right hand and forearm. His injuries were so severe they required surgery.
Around 5:45 p.m. on Feb. 11, the baby's mother received a Facebook message from her babysitter, with a picture of the boy's arm, saying he was having an "allergic reaction."
The mother responded saying it looked more like a burn and she would leave work immediately to get him.
The mother drove her son directly to the hospital.
Meanwhile, Mesa police talked with the babysitter, 24-year-old Brittany Marlene Morton, who gave them at least three different stories as to how the baby was burned.
First she said he was burned by his bottle, then it was hot coffee that was accidently spilled on him. Finally, police say, she told them she put the boy's hand under a hot water dispenser to clean them. She held his hands under the 154-degree water for about 10 seconds.
She told police that his hand turned very red and she put lotion and a sock over it.
She asked the child's mother to "leave her out of it" if the child was taken to a hospital.
ABC15 talked with Morton who said she was sorry and felt bad about what happened. She said she didn't realize the water was that hot. She said her own children have been taken away from her as a result of, what she's calling, an accident. She said she would never intentionally hurt a child.
Morton has been charged with one count of child abuse.
