Woman gets jail time after boy's scalding

A former Huntley woman is going to jail for three months for allowing a friend's 21-month-old son to come into contact with scalding water, leaving the boy with severe burns over about 20 percent of his body.

Stacey L. Redd, 38, also must serve two years probation under a sentence handed down Wednesday for a reckless conduct conviction stemming from the 2005 incident she calls an accident, but which prosecutors say was an intentional act.

Her sentence could have been harsher if not for testimony and a medical report indicating Redd, now living in Crystal Lake, has a long history of mostly untreated mental illness.

"While not rising to the level that it would excuse her behavior, the defendant has an extended period of psychological issues that, it appears to the court, have not been dealt with," McHenry County Judge Sharon Prather said.

The boy suffered the injuries while Redd was babysitting him in her Huntley apartment Aug. 25, 2005. There are conflicting accounts of how exactly is happened, but at some point the boy fell into a tub of hot water, suffering second- and third-degree burns on his back and buttocks that would leave him hospitalized for about six weeks.

Besides causing pain and permanent scarring, the boy's mother testified Wednesday, the incident stunted his growth and development.

"For a while he didn't talk anymore," she said. "All he would do is scream, holler and moan."

Redd did not speak during her sentencing, but she previously claimed the boy fell into the water before she knew how hot it was.

Her attorney said the incident was a one-time mistake, noting that there have never been claims of abuse or neglect against Redd involving her own four children.

But prosecutors dispute those claims, saying the burn pattern on the boy's back indicates Redd intentionally placed the boy in the hot water.

"Our medical experts are of the opinion that the victim's injuries are the result of him being deliberately submerged in the water," said Nichole Owens, criminal chief for the McHenry County state's attorney's office.

However, because others in Redd's apartment building said there were problems with the water heater, prosecutors did not believe they could prove she was aware of the water's extreme temperature, Owens said.