Father who admitted abusing baby after she was burned sentenced to jail

Father who admitted abusing baby after she was burned sentenced to jail

(Salt Lake County Jail)


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SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake City father who pleaded guilty to further abusing his infant daughter after she was burned by a space heater was sentenced Monday to a year in jail.

Elijah Malykeshabazz Jodejuan, 25, was ordered to spend a year in Salt Lake County Jail with no option of early release or time credited for good behavior, according to court documents.

Jodejaun pleaded guilty in May to a reduced count of third-degree felony child abuse but fled before he could be sentenced for the charge. He was recaptured last month after tips led police to a home where Jodejuan was found hiding in a closet.

He was originally charged with two counts of second-degree felony child abuse.

Jodejuan was caring for his 4-month-old daughter last November and set her in a carrier in front of a space heater while he took a shower, according to police, and the girl apparently pulled the heater down on top of herself.

When Jodejuan got out of the shower, he found "the heater was stuck" to the young girl who was "screaming like bloody murder," charges state.

Frustrated by the girl's crying, Jodejuan ripped away the heater, which had left a patterned burn mark in the girl's skin. He then forced a bottle into her mouth, police said.

The baby was found crying in a closet by her mother, who came home from work after receiving troubling text messages from Jodejuan, according to the charges.

Jodejuan told police he becomes "detached" and doesn't respond right away to the baby's crying, even though he knows she can get hurt during that time. Jodejuan said he "feels like a complete idiot" for letting it happen more than once.

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McKenzie Romero

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