Teen parents face child abuse charges for failing to seek medical help for scalded baby

SAN JACINTO - Two teenage parents face child abuse charges today for failing to seek medical help for their 2-month-old baby, who was burned by scalding water when they tried to bathe her at a home near San Jacinto.

The baby was left under a faucet briefly, and seriously burned as the water became hot, according to the Riverside County sheriff's office. As the water became burning hot, the baby began to scream.

The young parents waited more than 12 hours, until the infant's skin began to peel off from the burns, before seeking medical help. sheriff's Sgt. Patrick Chavez told the Riversidfe Press-Enterprise.

''They had every opportunity," Chavez said.

The father was identified as Jiovanni McMillan, 18, of San Jacinto. The mother's name was not released because she is a juvenile, but deputies said she is from Los Angeles.

The teen parents had been visiting the woman's mother at her home, in the 24300 block of Highway 74 in the unincorporated Good Hope area.

The child was taken to the Kaiser Moreno Valley Community Hospital Thursday afternoon for treatment of third-degree burns to her waist and thigh, her stomach and groin area, Chavez told the newspaper.

The baby was transferred to the burn unit at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, where she will need skin grafts, Chavez said.

McMillan was jailed for suspicion of child abuse early Friday,and was held in lieu of $15,000 bail at the Southwest Detention Center in French Valley. The 17-year-old mother was reportedly released to her parents.