BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) - A 26-year-old Houston-area man has been acquitted of charges he intentionally severely burned his 14-month-old daughter while bathing the child in hot water.
Laphonson Jamere Batiste, of Spring, was acquitted Friday by a jury in Beaumont, where he and his family had brought the girl to a hospital for treatment in August 2012. Police were called after the child was found with second- and third-degree burns over 41 percent of her body.
Court records reviewed by The Beaumont Enterprise (https://bit.ly/1Guyrp2 ) show Batiste said he didn’t know she was burned and believed the child was bathed properly.
Testimony showed doctors believed the child was intentionally hurt because her legs weren’t injured, suggesting she was restrained.
A Jefferson County jury disagreed.
If convicted, Batiste could have received up to life in prison.
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Information from: The Beaumont Enterprise, https://beaumontenterprise.com
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