Cops say he threw boiling water on a toddler. Last year, they said he put one in the oven
A man who was accused of putting a 3-year-old girl in a hot oven is behind bars again after deputies say he poured boiling water on a different toddler.
Terry May, 47, of Deltona was arrested Thursday, accused of pouring boiling water on a 3-year-old boy, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
A judge issued a warrant for his arrest last week on a charge of child abuse causing great bodily harm.
Deputies were notified after the boy’s day-care teachers noticed a burn mark on the child’s back and called an abuse hotline, according to a Sept. 27 charging affidavit.
The burn mark took up half of the boy’s back and “ran from the very top of his back all the way to the bottom,” according to the report.
The instructors asked the mother about the mark and were told the boy was pulled across the top of a trampoline, the report said.
But deputies say they learned during the investigation that May poured the boiling water on the 3-year-old after the child accidentally urinated on the floor. The boy lifted up his shirt to show detectives his back and said, “My back hurts,” and that “Terry burned me,” according to the report.
“The pain this child endured at the hands of someone who was supposed to care for him is unconscionable,” the Florida Department of Children and Families said in a statement to the Miami Herald. “The Department of Children and Families is investigating this incident, and the child is safe in our care.”
The child was placed with relatives by the Florida Department of Children and Families.
This isn’t the first time May has faced child abuse charges. He was arrested last year in DeLand after his ex-girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter told deputies he would frequently beat her with a belt and put her in the oven.
The state was unable to prosecute the 2018 case, according to the sheriff’s office.
May’s relationship to the 3-year-old boy was not disclosed by deputies.
Florida’s Department of Children and Families declined to disclose May’s relationship with the child and said information on any prior child welfare investigations were confidential.
May’s bond is set at $250,000.
This article was updated to reflect the Florida Department of Children and Families statement following the article’s publication.
This story was originally published October 14, 2019 at 6:47 AM.
