A Platte County man found guilty of first-degree assault faces a 12-year prison term for scalding a two-year-old child with hot water.
Daniel Rose, 32, received the sentence Thursday, Aug. 25 in Platte County Circuit Court from judge James Van Amburg. Rose’s attorney asked that his client receive probation, while prosecutors recommended prison. Because the Platte County Prosecutor’s Office charged Rose with first-degree assault, he must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence to become eligible for parole.
Daniel Rose
“This is a truly heartbreaking case of child abuse,” Platte County prosecuting attorney Eric Zahnd said. “This young child will carry the physical and emotional scars of this awful crime for the rest of his life.”
The sentence comes more than three years after the crime.
On March 26, 2013, Kansas City (Mo.) Police officers went to the 7600 block of NW Milrey Drive after a report of child abuse. Upon arrival, Rose said he had been watching his girlfriend’s two-year-old child and had seen a rash on the child.
Rose had not called 911 but had instead called the child’s mother at work.
After being texted a photo of her child, the victim’s mother rushed home and took the child to Children’s Mercy Hospital. Medical staff treated extensive first and second degree burns covering more than 20 percent of the child’s body, including the genitals and buttocks, which had blistered. In the emergency room physician’s opinion, the injuries were consistent with the child being dunked in hot water.
Rose then changed his story, claiming the child had soiled a diaper and fell into the tub while he was drawing a bath. However, the emergency room physician vehemently rejected any suggestion that the injuries could have been accidental.
The crime clearly left a lasting impression on the victim, according to Zahnd.
“More than three years after this terrible assault, this young child is still terrified of taking a bath and must instead be showered,” he said. “This child was undoubtedly screaming in pain when dunked in scalding water, but instead of immediately calling for medical attention, this defendant tried to cover his tracks.”