Texas Man Gets 40 Years For Placing His 4-Year-Old Stepson In Boiling Hot Bathtub
A 27-year-old father in Texas will spend several decades behind bars after he admitted to severely burning his 4-year-old stepson by forcefully immersing the boy into a bathtub of near-boiling hot water, causing the child to suffer burns over more than one-third of his body.
Smith County District Court Judge Taylor Heaton on Monday ordered Joshua Tranair Meekings to serve a sentence of 40 years in a state correctional facility for his actions, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Prior to being sentenced, Meekings on Monday formally pleaded guilty to one count of injury to a child with intent to cause serious bodily injury in connection with the May 2022 incident. Meekings also pleaded to a sentencing enhancement based on previous convictions on charges of sexual assault and burglary of a habitation.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained byÂ
Nacogdoches, CBS and CW affiliate KYTX, the investigation into Meekings began when Child Protective Services on May 26, 2022, contacted the Smith County Sheriff’s Office regarding a 4-year-old boy who had been brought to a hospital in Dallas to treat severe burns.
A doctor reportedly told investigators that the child suffered burns over 33% to 36% of his body, which included the entirety of both of his legs, feet, and buttocks, as well as a portion of his right arm.
The doctor also noted that most of the burns sustained by the child were third-degree burns that were likely the result of forceful immersion
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