WASHINGTON — A babysitter has been charged with child abuse after the 6-month-old girl she was watching was found with severe burns on the bottoms of her feet this week.
Ismelda Ramos Mendoza, 36, of Blandensburg, Maryland, told Bladensburg police that she touched the girl’s feet against a hot pan on the stove because she was frustrated that the girl wouldn’t stop crying, according to charging documents.
Mendoza is charged with first- and second-degree child abuse plus assault and reckless endangerment.
A relative noticed that the bottom of the baby’s feet were red the morning after picking up the baby from Ramos’ home. When blisters began to form, the relative took the baby to the pediatrician, where staff immediately sent them to the hospital. She was admitted to Children’s National Medical Center on March 25 for treatment of the second-degree burns, court documents said.
The baby’s relative told police that she asked Ramos why the girl’s feet were red and later she asked what caused the blisters. Ramos responded that she didn’t know what caused the injuries, according to court documents.
Ramos initially told police that the girl’s feet brushed a hot tortilla that she had been cooking on the stove, which police said would not have caused the girl’s injuries. Ramos then admitted to burning the girl’s feet, the court records said.
