Protection order issued for scalding victim, family

A Cook County judge entered an emergency order of protection Tuesday on behalf of a toddler whose face was scalded last week after authorities say his stepfather Santiago Minjarez tried to stop the baby from crying by holding him upside down under hot running water.

Citing the “immediate danger of further abuse,” Cook County Circuit Court Judge Joel Greenblatt issued the order which he extended to include the victim's mother and her two other children even through Minjarez received no prior notice of the hearing.

Minjarez, 33, has been charged with aggravated battery to a child, a class X felony that carries a sentence of six to 30 years in prison upon conviction. Minjarez, who was on parole at the time of the incident, is being held at Stateville Correctional Center on a $200,000 bond.

The baby was wearing a full-leg cast at the time, a result of a recent injury which is under investigation, prosecutors said. Minjarez's wife, the baby's mother, was not at the family's Rosemont apartment at the time of the scalding injury, police said.

She appeared in court holding the towheaded 17-month-old, who wore a light-colored, protective mask that left only his chin and eyes visible. The mother of three testified that she feared for her children and herself, adding that her 7-year-old son was “terrified” by Minjarez, who she said tried to convince the boy to claim responsibility for his brother's injuries.

She told the court that she has known Minjarez for about eight months and that he had not behaved violently toward her or the children before this incident.

Speaking after the hearing, the woman expressed regret that she did not know about Minjarez's criminal past.

According to Illinois Department of Corrections records, he was sentenced to six years in prison for a 2007 burglary conviction and was paroled on Sept. 21, 2009. In 2002, he received a 10-year sentence for burglary and arson.

She is optimistic about the progress of her son, who appeared alert during the hearing, saying doctors expect his scars will be minimal.

“His doctors can't believe how well he is recovering,” she said.

Minjarez next appears in domestic violence court on Dec. 20 for a hearing on the emergency protection order. His attorney expects that an indictment against his client will be announced around that time.