CLEARFIELD – A 26-year-old Glen Campbell man who allegedly held a boy’s hand and arm in hot water, causing third-degree burns waived his right to a preliminary hearing at Centralized Court on Wednesday at the Clearfield County Jail.
Jessy Wade Newsome, 26 of Glen Campbell, has been charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person. His bail has been set at $50,000 unsecured.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the state police were notified by Clearfield County Children, Youth and Family Services that a 7-year-old boy had been transported to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center – Mercy Hospital on March 13. Police indicated the boy had third-degree burns on his left arm.
Police said the boy related to medical personnel that Newsome had held his arm in hot water.
On March 14, police interviewed the boy at Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh. They said he related he’d spilled pudding in the refrigerator. As a result, the boy said Newsome made him wash the drawers from the refrigerator as punishment.
The boy also told police that Newsome had run hot water in the sink. He said Newsome held his arm in the water, making him wash the drawer. He said the water was too hot and he cried and yelled, telling Newsome the same. He said Newsome continued to hold his arm in the hot water.
Afterward, the boy said Newsome saw his arm was red. He said he placed his arm in cold water and then put cream on it. He said Newsome apologized and then allowed him to watch a movie on television.
On the same day, police interviewed Dr. Alan Corcos, who is a surgeon and attending physician for the boy. He said the boy had severe, third-degree burns on his left arm. Police indicted the physician showed them photographs of the same.
“I noted that the entire hand and arm up just past the elbow were very red and swollen with numerous blisters,” police said in the court documents for the case.
On March 15, police interviewed Newsome about the alleged incident. He stated that on March 13, he and the boy were washing a refrigerator drawer in the sink. Newsome related he held the boy’s arm in the water.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the defendant said he wanted to make sure the boy was washing the drawer correctly. He said the boy related the water was too hot. He said he thought the boy was just “making an excuse” in order to get out of doing so.
Newsome related he realized the water felt too hot on his hand also after approximately 20 – 30 seconds. He said he pulled both his and the boy’s hands out of the water. He said the boy’s hand and arm then became red and started to blister.