An 11-month-old baby girl suffered first- and second-degree burns on approximately 30 percent of her body after her mother’s boyfriend allegedly burned her with scalding hot water.
In the early hours of May 19, officers from the 115th Precinct arrested and charged Anthony Parra, 20, of Jackson Heights with first- and second-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child at New York Hospital Queens where he took baby Raylin Castillo. Castillo, who has been transferred to New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center (NYPH), has become the latest victim of child abuse in the borough.
“This is, sadly, the 10th incident that we have seen in Queens County within the last six months in which a caregiver is accused of violently assaulting and/or killing a child,” said Queens District Attorney (DA) Richard A. Brown. “The fragility of a small child cannot be emphasized enough. There is no excuse for these senseless attacks. The defendants in these cases must be severely punished.”
According to the authorities, Parra babysat Castillo and her two-year-old sister around 3 a.m. at 31-29 73rd Street. When Castillo awoke crying, he allegedly tried to feed her but she refused, so he allegedly gave the baby a shower. He allegedly raised the water temperature twice. He allegedly then observed the baby’s skin getting red and began scrubbing her with a sponge, at which point the skin began to peel off.
The DA’s office alleges that Parra then went into the kitchen and ran hot water before pouring it into a pan. He then allegedly took the pan and poured the very hot water over the baby.
Finally, it is alleged that Parra then put cream and alcohol on the baby’s burns before taking her to New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens. When transferred, NYPH medical personnel stated that the burns suffered by Castillo – burns on her back, torso, scalp, forehead and her upper extremities – were consistent with having had scalding water poured over the body while the baby was in a crawling position on all fours.
The child had been in critical condition and on a ventilator as a result of the burns she suffered, according to the DA on May 20. NYPH had no updated information by press time.
If convicted, Parra faces up to 25 years in prison.
