Crime & Safety

Man Who Scalded Infant Reportedly Used 150-Degree Water

The suspect has claimed the water was used to give the child a bath, and that it "was not nearly hot enough to burn him."

Shawn Ward, 23, of Pembroke, Mass., has reportedly claimed that he didn't intentionally burn the 18-month-old boy he was babysitting, although police tests have revealed that the temperature of the water he poured on the child was 150 degrees, according to WMUR.

WMUR has reported that it took "nearly four hours" for Ward to call his girlfriend — the child's mother — and "almost five and half [sic] hours" to call 911 after allegedly bathing the child Friday with the scalding water. WMUR has also reported that Ward left the mother a voicemail that stated "his forehead and head are peeling almost like it was burned. I gave him a bath earlier, but the water was not nearly hot enough to burn him. Give me a call back."

Ward was charged Saturday with second-degree assault with bodily injury of an individual under 13 years old and endangering the welfare of a child in connection to the incident.

Salem Deputy Police Chief Shawn Patten said his department was alerted after receiving a call from Lawrence General Hospital at 6:46 p.m. Friday after the infant was transported there by the Salem Fire Department.

Ward was charged after a "brief investigation" following the call from the hospital, according to Patten. He said Ward isn't the infant's biological father.

The infant's mother declined to speak with Patch on Tuesday.

Patten said investigators believe the burns were "intentional" and caused by the "scalding hot water." The infant was transferred by LGH to Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Mass., due to its injuries.

Ward was taken into custody without incident Saturday was held on $15,000 cash bail pending an arraignment in Salem District Court.


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