Prosecutor: Streamwood man trapped 5-year-old boy in scalding shower

A 5-year-old Streamwood boy remains hospitalized with second-degree burns to his face, head and chest after a man authorities described as his mother's boyfriend trapped him in a shower with scalding water because the boy asked to have the temperature adjusted.

Brian Magsombol, 29, was ordered held on $250,000 bail Tuesday during his first court appearance since being charged with aggravated battery to a child and aggravated domestic battery in connection with injuries the boy suffered Thursday night.

"I don't know how somebody could do this to anybody, let alone a child," said the boy's mother, Samantha Raygoza, who disputed prosecutors' description of Magsombol as her boyfriend and referred to him as a friend.

A Cook County prosecutor said Magsombol was watching the boy while his mother was at work Thursday night when the 5-year-old decided to take a shower because his feet were dirty. While showering, the boy asked Magsombol to help him adjust the water temperature, Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Kelly Peterson said.

According to Peterson, Magsombol became so angry at the request that he turned the water to its highest temperature and closed the shower door, preventing the boy from escaping.

The scalding water peeled the skin off the boy's face and chest, Peterson said. At one point, the boy grabbed a bucket that was left in the shower and put it over his head to protect himself, she said.

Eventually, Magsombol let the boy out of the shower and, noticing his injuries, called the boy's mother at work, according to the prosecutor. She returned home and took him to the St. Alexius Medical Center emergency room in Hoffman Estates.

He later was transferred to Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, where he remains in an intensive care unit but is "doing as good as can be expected," Raygoza said.

"No amount of crying or fussing could justify this," she said.

Magsombol would face a mandatory sentence of six to 30 years in prison of convicted of aggravated battery to a child, a felony. Aggravated domestic battery is a felony punishable by three to seven years in prison.

Cook County Judge Joel Greenblatt ordered that Magsombol have no contact with anyone under the age of 18 if he is released on bail. Magsombol, who is a U.S. citizen but has parents living in the Philippines, must also surrender his passport if he posts bail.

Greenblatt also granted Raygoza and her son an order of protection from Magsombol, who is scheduled to return to court Sept. 4.