A babysitter was charged with child abuse, accused of placing the feet of a young child against a hot pan, according to charging documents filed with the District Court of Maryland for Prince George’s County.
Ismelda Ramos Mendoza, 36, of Bladensburg, Maryland, was taken into custody on Monday, March 27 after she told investigators she became frustrated with a 6-month-old girl for crying too much. She was arrested and taken to the Prince George’s Department of Corrections.
According to the court documents, the mother of the girl took the youngster, Ana Flores Guerrero, to the home of Mendoza on Wednesday, March 22 around 2 p.m. for Mendoza to watch the girl. The mother returned about three hours later to pick up her child.
The next morning, the mother saw redness on the bottom of Ana Flores’ feet and asked Mendoza if she knew what happened. Mendoza said she didn’t know anything.
A day later, the mother said small blisters formed on the feet of the young girl, and she later took Ana Flores to a doctor, who immediately called 911 to take the girl to the hospital due to severe burns on the bottom of her feet, according to court documents.
The girl was admitted to the hospital for second-degree burns to the bottom of both feet.
Investigators with the Bladensburg Police Department interviewed Mendoza, who initially said Ana Flores’ feet bumped into a tortilla that had been removed from a hot pan. After further discussion with the investigator, Mendoza said she “became frustrated with (Ana Flores) crying too much, became so upset she placed (Ana Flores) feet on the pan she was cooking the tortilla on, causing the burns,” according to the court documents.
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Ana Flores was transported to the Children’s National Medical Center for treatment of the burns. She was hospitalized for a few days. Doctors had to manually peel the burned skin from her feet and she is being monitored for infection.
