By Howard Koplowitz
A Rockaway Park mother was charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly submerging her 3-year-old son in scalding hot bath water and causing him to suffer second-degree burns, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Regina Cooper, 30, of 112-34 Rockaway Beach Blvd. in Rockaway Park, allegedly got upset when she came home mid-afternoon Jan. 25 and was told her 3-year-old son, Barkim Owens, had soiled his pull-ups, Brown said.
Cooper allegedly cursed at her son, stripped him of his clothes and submerged him in hot bathwater for several minutes while her son screamed, cried and pleaded with her to take him out, Brown said.
When Cooper finally pulled him out, the DA said, Barkim’s skin began falling off his body. He was taken to Nassau County Medical Center, where he was admitted with second-degree burns to his legs, buttocks and genitals, Brown said.
Cooper faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted after being charged in Queens Criminal Court with assault and endangering the welfare of a child, Brown said.
“Despite the child’s attempts to get out of the bathtub and his frantic cries, the defendant allegedly held him in the water for a prolonged period of time, resulting in severe scalding over 21 percent of his body,” the DA said in a statement. “The young child will be permanently scarred — both physically and emotionally — by the experience and the fact that it is his own mother charged with seriously harming him.”
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
