When a daycare worker asked Nataysha O. about a round burn mark on the four-year-old’s arm, the child responded, “[D]addy burn me with a cigarette.”
The City later filed a Family Court proceeding against Manuel, Nataysha’s father, alleging excessive corporal punishment and child neglect. And after the Bronx County Family Court dismissed the case, an appeal to the Appellate Division, First Department, followed.
While Manuel asserted that the burn mark was a result of accidental contact with a lit cigarette, the AD1 rejected that claim, finding Manuel’s testimony to be “inherently improbable” because of the location of the burn mark and his varying accounts of the accident.
Despite the single occurrence, the AD1 concluded Manuel had inflicted “excessive corporal punishment” by “intentionally burning his young daughter.” Additionally, it was of the view that Manuel also neglected his two other children who were present when Nataysha was burned.
No neglecting that.
To view a copy of the Appellate Division’s decision, please use this link: Matter of Nataysha O., (Manuel O.)