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Father charged after young son gets sunburn

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Those are barely borderline 2nd degree. You need actual charred skin and subdermal damage for 3rd degree.

Either way it's just absurd they are charging the father with what was an easy honest mistake/accident. So the kid got sunburned after a very short time in the sun, that is NOT abuse, that just an unfortunate accident.

This tells the entire story -
"The child?s mother reported the burns after she picked him up."

Bitter ex-wife with a bone to pick and gets the police involved.
 
Originally posted by: spidey07
Those are barely borderline 2nd degree. You need actual charred skin and subdermal damage for 3rd degree.

Either way it's just absurd they are charging the father with what was an easy honest mistake/accident. So the kid got sunburned after a very short time in the sun, that is NOT abuse, that just an unfortunate accident.

This tells the entire story -
"The child?s mother reported the burns after she picked him up."

Bitter ex-wife with a bone to pick and gets the police involved.
Click to expand...

yeap. im betting this is more a ploy to get custody canceled on the father. she probably badgered the cops into arresting him.

odds are the charges will be dropped.

 
A bunch of you replied that you've been sunburned really badly. Why weren't your parents charged with neglect or abuse? Just from the last part about the mother picking up the boy, it sounds like they're divorced and it's a custody thing. So, I'll bet that the extent of the damage is exaggerated.
 
You will not get 3rd degree burns in 90 min of sun exposure in KY. It is rare enough to even get 2nd degree burns. I live in South FL and when my kid was two he would play outside for much longer than that without sun screen and didn't get 2nd degree burns.

Based on the pictures, I would say that those are 2nd degree. It most certainly does not merit any kind of charges though. That's stupid. Who the heck has a kid that has never gotten sun burned before?
 
That's the problem though, it is a slippery slope of negligence. I was talking to a friend of mine about this and he said

What if you don't replace the drain plug when you change your engine oil and your car lock up and you crash? Your kid gets hurt, should you be charged with a crime?
Click to expand...

I replied "what if i don't check my tire pressure every time i get into my car with my child? What if I roll down the windows and a bee flies in and stings her? What if I floor the accelerator and cause more carbon monoxide in the air for her to breathe? Isn't all that negligence/abuse?"

but yeah, I agree with those stating it is a divorce/custody thing. Also, the father is the one that claims it was only 90 minutes right? Hell it could have been 4 hours with him passed out drunk on a hammock nearby and he was just trying to cover his ass.
 
Originally posted by: vi edit
Not to trivialize the event, but can you even get 3rd degree burns from sun exposure?
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Yup, got it once at the beach when I was a kid (heavy blistering and skin peeling off in slabs). It would be well to point out that such damage shows up well after the exposure. Often, as a parent you cannot tell till its too late. But the state will take care of you now, big brother will insure you are insulated from that pesky thing called life.
 
Originally posted by: Joemonkey
That's the problem though, it is a slippery slope of negligence. I was talking to a friend of mine about this and he said

What if you don't replace the drain plug when you change your engine oil and your car lock up and you crash? Your kid gets hurt, should you be charged with a crime?
Click to expand...

I replied "what if i don't check my tire pressure every time i get into my car with my child? What if I roll down the windows and a bee flies in and stings her? What if I floor the accelerator and cause more carbon monoxide in the air for her to breathe? Isn't all that negligence/abuse?"

but yeah, I agree with those stating it is a divorce/custody thing. Also, the father is the one that claims it was only 90 minutes right? Hell it could have been 4 hours with him passed out drunk on a hammock nearby and he was just trying to cover his ass.
Click to expand...

The frequency of your car example as opposed to the frequency of 2nd degree sun burns on young children is the difference. Do you have any idea how many parents would be separated from their children if each and everyone of them faced charges like this? Trust me. The world would not be a better place.
 
i am going to guess by the discolorations shown in the linked article that it is 3rd degree sunburn. anytime the subdural layers of tissue are affected, it becomes 3rd degree. according to the article, the child was given this diagnosis by a doctor, not the mother or the police.

imho, not sure it is abuse unless the father was aware the child would burn easily beforehand.

ive had 2nd/3rd degree burns on top of my feet and it is very, very painful. my feet had blisters under blisters until it was raw tissue exposed. the healing process required a topical salve (silverdene) and oral antibiotics. it took a long time for the wounds to close.
 
3rd degree burns after 90 minutes in the sun? That doesn't sound right at all. I have been exposed to the sun well over 90 mins without any sort of protection (dumb I know) an the worst I have ever come out of it was a blister here and there. But 3rd degree burns? Either the father exposed the kid to some higher heat levels or this is being exaggerated some how.
 
Am I the only one that burst out laughing at "Kentucky" and "Bobby Jones"?

The only thing that would have made it better is if it was "Bobby Ray Jones" or something.
 
Reading some more articles the estranged ex-wife took the kid to the police station first, then the hospital.

There's your motive and why the guy was charged. She's building the case to get full custody.
 
Originally posted by: danzigrules
if she really took the kid to the police station first then the hospital, she should be charged too.
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I agree completely. Isn't making a child suffer longer just as abusive as causing the suffering in the first place?

"Oh look, billy put thumb screws into bobbies thumbs, better go show the police what billy did, oh, and, maybe take those things out."
 
Originally posted by: ManyBeers
Originally posted by: SpunkyJones
Crap, I feel bad for the kid, but is it really criminal to be stupid?
Click to expand...

IMO it is criminal to charge the father with a crime. Society running amok.
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😕 The kid had 2nd and 3rd degree burns b/c of his father's negligence. Would yo have only considered criminal if the kid died? Reminds me of the kids that die or develop brain damage when their parents forget about them and let them bake in the car.
 
Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Originally posted by: ManyBeers
Originally posted by: SpunkyJones
Crap, I feel bad for the kid, but is it really criminal to be stupid?
Click to expand...

IMO it is criminal to charge the father with a crime. Society running amok.
Click to expand...

😕 The kid had 2nd and 3rd degree burns b/c of his father's negligence. Would yo have only considered criminal if the kid died? Reminds me of the kids that die or develop brain damage when their parents forget about them and let them bake in the car.
Click to expand...

I'd bet that close to 1/2 of all kids get a sunburn that blisters before they reach the age of 5. Do you really think that all those parents should be charged? New parents are often amazed at how much quicker their toddler burns than older children and adults burn. And, with a sunburn, usually it's too late before it's noticed.
 
I'm colorblind, I would never know if my kid was getting sunburned or not.

That being said, I'm Mr. Anal Retentive Guy and never let the kids out without all that is necessary. I'm even worse with the grandkids.

 
Another vote for "if it really was 3rd degree then do something, but that doesn't look like 3rd degree, it looks like a normal bad childhood burn, which can happen, and it also looks like the ex-wife is trying to get the dad in trouble because she took the kid to the cops before the hospital so this story should just fall into the doldrums of the internet".
 
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