Prosecutors: Man Scalded 2-Year-Old Son Because Of Dirty Diaper

CHICAGO (STMW) -- A man became so upset when his 2-year-old son asked him to change his soiled diaper that he scalded the toddler with a burning hot frying pan.

The 22-month-old boy suffered first and second-degree burns on his penis, scrotum and thigh, which required skin grafts, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

The boy's father, 39-year-old Marco Santos, is charged with aggravated battery of a child, a Class X felony. He was ordered held on $500,000 bond Wednesday, Cook County State's Attorney's office spokeswoman Tandra Simonton said.

The toddler's mother, 36-year-old Joanna Pawlina, is also charged with endangering the life and health of a child, a misdemeanor, because she didn't take the baby in for treatment until three days later.

It happened in a home in the 5900 block of West Addison on Nov. 7, prosecutors said. The toddler came into the kitchen and said he needed his diaper changed. That's when Santos took off the diaper and part of it fell apart.

That upset him and he placed the hot pan on the child's thigh and genital area, burning him. He tried to put ointment on the burns but instead used toothpaste, court records indicated.

The parents noticed the baby was having trouble walking but didn't take him to the hospital until Nov. 10. Police said they were notified by Loyola University Medical Center's child abuse hotline, which then led to the arrests, police said.

The Illinois Dept. of Children and Family Services is investigating allegations of abuse and neglect against the parents, spokesman Jimmie Whitelow said. The agency also investigated an unfounded allegation of neglect against the couple in August 2011. Whitelow said Pawlina still has custody of her children.

Santos has a conviction for felony burglary in 2008 for which he was sentenced to two years probation, court records indicated.

He'll appear for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 21 in Domestic Violence Court (Br. 64.)

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)