DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) – A father burned a child’s arm with a lighter as a form of punishment, police say.
The Decatur man, who WAND-TV is not naming in order to avoid naming the victim, is accused of hitting the child with a belt and using the lighter on their right arm on May 12. Police say the punishment happened after the child had played with a lighter and caused a burn on another child’s face.
Sworn statements say the belt was used on the victim’s buttocks. The child told police the man held the flame to make the top of the lighter hot, then pressed the lighter on the arm, causing a burn.
The suspect faces two charges of domestic battery and a third for aggravated battery to a child. His bond is set at $30,000 in Macon County.
