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SALT LAKE CITY — A mother is facing criminal charges after cigarette burns were found on her young son, according to court documents.
Mariah Ralynn Shields, 23, of Salt Lake City, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with child abuse, a second-degree felony.
Earlier this year, Shields’ 2-year-old son was video chatting with his father, who was in another state. Shields informed the father at that time that the boy “had a cigarette burn on his back,” according to charging documents. When the father asked how that happened, Shields said she was asleep at the time and didn't know, the charges state.
When the father returned to Utah, he took his son to see a doctor where two additional cigarette burns were located on his forearm and near his collarbone, according to charging documents.
A $100,000 warrant was issued Tuesday for Shields’ arrest.
