Man Burned 1-Year-Old Girl With Scalding Bath Water: Report

MILWAUKEE, WI — A 27-year-old Milwaukee man has been arrested and charged after authorities say he put a 1-year-old girl in a bathtub with scalding hot water. The girl's treatment was so painful, she had to be put under anesthesia as surgeons removed the burned skin, authorities said.

Authorities say Akeem Saygo, 27, has been arrested and charged with one count of neglecting a child — causing great bodily harm. If convicted, Saygo could face up to seven-and-a-half years behind bars. He is currently being held in the Milwaukee County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond. He's due next in court on Dec. 23 for his preliminary hearing.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee County, Saygo put the 1-year-old girl in an upstairs bathtub on Dec. 9, ran water, and then went downstairs to do laundry. When he went back upstairs to check on her after an unspecified amount of time, he saw the girl crying and saw that she had burns on her body.

Authorities say Saygo expressed in a text message to the girl's mother, who was out running errands at the time, that he was mortified over what happened. "“Need to take the baby to the hospital call me asap I made the water too hot for the girls," he texted the girl's mother. “I put her and the tub first and left the hot water on swear to god I did not do that on purpose.”

The girls' mother rushed home and drove her to the emergency room for treatment. There, medical staff determined that the girl had burns on her back, legs and torso.

When police questioned the girl's mother over the incident, she reportedly told investigators that Saygo had bathed the girl multiple times in the past, however had no trouble before that night, according to the criminal complaint.

According to court documents, surgeons determined that the girl had second-degree burns to 15 percent of her body. A treatment team cleaned the girl's burned skin and removed all the dead skin, treating the area with antibiotic cream, which accelerates the healing process, and dressed her skin.

Authorities reported that "due to the extremely high level of pain associated with this surgery, [the girl] was put under anesthesia for the surgery." Specialists said the girl has a risk of permanent scarring.