Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake man faces numerous criminal charges accusing him of kicking out the teeth of a 5-year-old boy, burning him, spraying him with bleach and then failing to seek proper medical attention.
Anthony Thomas, 29, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with object rape of a child, a first-degree felony; and four counts of intentional aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony.
Between May 5 and June 15, a 5-year-old boy was left in Thomas' care. The boy's mother has a total of five children, but "Thomas had repeatedly insisted on taking care" of just the 5-year-old, according to charging documents. The charges do not indicate what the relationship is between the mother and Thomas.
The mother told police she had tried to pick up her son earlier, but Thomas would made excuses, "including stating that (the boy) needed to 'heal' and would therefore need to stay with him longer," the charges state. When she finally was able to pick the child up, "she observed that he had burn marks and bruises all over his body and was missing some teeth."
The boy, who was missing four front teeth, told police that Thomas had kicked him in the mouth, according to the charges.
After the boy was taken to Primary Children's Hospital and police were called, an officer observed the boy also had "a burn mark that spanned from his neckline down to the line of his shorts" as well as "multiple other marks and abrasions on his body and head" as well as "chemical burns to his eyes," the charges state.
According to one doctor, "the child's injuries are so severe there is a question of whether he will ever recover his sight. His burns are so severe that he is in constant and extraordinary pain without the use of very strong pain medications," charging documents state.
Bruising, fractures and chemical burns in other areas were also detected by doctors.
When questioned, Thomas claimed the boy had had an accident and needed to be cleaned off in the shower, but when he put the boy in the water he "noticed he was burned from how hot the shower water was to include both of his eyes being severely swollen almost shut," a police booking affidavit states.
Thomas also told police that the boy's "skin had come off his back like a sheet," the charges allege. He claimed he wrapped a towel around the boy and if the swelling had lasted more than five hours he would have sought medical help. Thomas also "admitted to mixing a solution of bleach, soap, and water and spraying it on (the boy's) body and back of head" to help the burns heal, the charges say.
Thomas was arrested on the day that police say he had sent a message to the mother informing her that "he planned to move to Florida … and would not be returning to Utah for a long time."
Prosecutors have requested that Thomas be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without bail pending trial.
