John Jefferson
Inset: Malynda R. Harrison (Gallia County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The home where Harrison burned her boyfriend’s young daughters (WSAZ).
A 22-year-old woman in Ohio may spend more than a decade behind bars for physically abusing two young girls, forcing the children to remain in a scalding bathtub that was so hot it left them covered in burns and caused one of the victims to have a seizure. A Gallia County judge on Wednesday ordered Malynda R. Harrison to serve a sentence of eight to 11 years in a state correctional facility, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the office of the county prosecuting attorney, the sentence was handed down after Harrison was convicted on two counts of endangering children causing serious physical harm
As Law&Crime previously reported, deputies with the sheriff’s office and emergency medical personnel at about 8:26 p.m. on Thursday, June 6, 2024, responded to a call regarding a “medical emergency involving a 5-year-old female child” at a home in the 17000 block of Hannan Trace Road in Guyan Township, Ohio. The child was said to be having a seizure in the home, which is about 120 miles southeast of Columbus.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders said they noticed that the 5-year-old girl had “sustained severe burns to a large portion of her body.” She was immediately transported to a medical center in Huntington, Ohio, for treatment of the burns.
Police said they soon learned that Harrison was directly responsible for the child’s burns.
“As a result of this event, our team of detectives have conducted a thorough investigation into this situation and have determined that the injuries are a direct result of intentional acts committed by an adult entrusted to care for this innocent child,” Sheriff Matt Champlin said in a statement following Harrison’s arrest. “This individual was taken into custody by detectives on Sunday, June 9, 2024 and has been incarcerated in the Gallia County Jail for child endangerment, a felony of the third degree, after consultation with Prosecuting Attorney Jason Holdren.”
Authorities said that Harrison was in a relationship with the father of the children, both of whom were in her care when they suffered the injuries.
According to the criminal complaint, Harrison told investigators that she placed the 5-year-old and her 4-year-old sister in a bathtub filled with scalding hot water and would not allow the children to get out or make the water temperature more bearable. She further admitted to “physically restraining” the kids to keep them in the burning water.
Being forced to remain in the blisteringly hot water caused the 5-year-old to suffer “seizure activity” as well as second-degree burns while the 4-year-old suffered first and second-degree burns to her body.
After Harrison serves her prison sentence, she will be required to spend up to an additional three years under the supervision of the Ohio Adult Parole Authority, prosecutors said.
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