Our jobs as parents are by no means easy. We are responsible for the emotional and physical well-being of little humans who will grow up to be members of society, and that is undeniably a huge undertaking. But there are aspects of parenting that should come relatively easily, love and protection being two of them. Above all else, we are expected to love and protect our children as much as we can, and yet somehow, hundreds of parents fail at that. Those who go specifically and cruelly out of their way to harm a child are people I could never, ever understand. Miguel Santiago Gonzalez, 28, is apparently among such people.
A judge recently found Gonzalez guilty of intentionally causing serious bodily injury to a 20-month-old victim.
In September 2022, the Lufkin, Texas, Police Department was called by Woodland Heights Medical Center over a toddler who had suffered severe burns, according to Law & Crime. Gonzalez, who was present at the hospital and was the boyfriend of the child’s mother, was wholly uncooperative with authorities. They ended up arresting him at the home over an outstanding warrant, according to an arrest affidavit reviewed by KLTV.
After the arrest, Gonzalez answered questions regarding the burning incident.
Originally, Gonzalez told authorities he was giving the toddler a bath and the temperature of the water was set to “lukewarm” when he left the young girl along for “two minutes.” He claims he briefly conversed with a roommate in the hallway and insisted he was within “earshot” of the bathroom, but allegedly heard nothing, KLTV reported. He then claimed that by the time he returned, the child had turned on the hot water herself and burned herself so badly her skin was already showing signs of peeling.
After reviewing the girl’s injuries, however, authorities determined the toddler was a victim of “immersion abuse,” where she was intentionally submerged in hot water. The tell was that it was her torso and below that had the burn marks; had she been splashing or turning in the water, the burn would have happened in her upper torso area. Authorities also noted that given the extreme nature of her burns, there was no way she could have been silent when this happened.
“Detectives completed the emergency burn tests checklist, and found the max water temperature to be 143 degrees Fahrenheit,” the affidavit reads, Law & Crime reported.
The little girl had burn marks on half of her body and will likely have scars for life.
Sadly, as she grows she will need to have surgeries to deal with the burns. Gonzalez’s defense tried to argue for leniency because he had “no previous record” of offenses but did have letters of support, according to KTRE. The letters were dismissed and considered unreliable. The victim’s mother also testified he had previously beaten her to the point of needing stitches. He was officially sentenced to 30 years in prison without parole.
“Gonzalez sentenced an innocent child to a life of ongoing pain filled with surgeries and uncertainty about what the future holds,” Angelina County District Attorney Amy Wren shared in a statement to The Lufkin Daily News. “The sentence handed down by Judge Kassaw reflects the severity of the actions perpetrated by Gonzalez and acknowledges the suffering of the child and the child’s family.”
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
