EVERETT — A Lynnwood woman is accused of pushing an 8-year-old boy’s hand and face onto a hot stove burner to punish him for playing with matches.
The boy required surgery to remove scar tissue from his palm, and a skin graft, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Matt Baldock wrote in court documents.
Baldock this week charged Cathleen Arthur with second-degree assault of a child. Arthur, 34, doesn’t have any prior criminal convictions. According to state licensing records, Arthur is a certified nursing assistant.
The boy and his mother lived with the woman in her Lynnwood house, court papers said. Arthur helped care for the boy while his mother was working.
She brought the child to the emergency department at Swedish Hospital last year. He had burns to his hand and face. Arthur allegedly told doctors that the boy had tripped over the family dogs and fell against a stove burner. The child told doctors a similar story about how he received his injuries. He said he was helping clean the stove when he tripped and fell into the stove, burning his palm and cheek. The boy was moved to Harborview Medical Center’s burn unit.
He was hospitalized for a couple of days. He also underwent surgery and occupational therapy. About a month after the incident Harborview Medical staff called Child Protective Services. The boy’s mother reportedly told a hospital social worker that she suspected that Arthur had caused her son’s injuries. The boy stuck to his story when he was interviewed by a CPS social worker.
In June, a CPS social worker spoke with the boy after he and his mother had moved out of Arthur’s house. That’s when the boy told the social worker that Arthur became angry with him after she discovered that he had burned her bed comforter while he was playing with matches. He said Arthur grabbed his wrist and held it over the burner. She also pushed his face onto the burner. He instinctively put his hand on the element to try to push his face away, Baldock wrote.
The boy was told to lie about what happened.
Detectives interviewed Arthur in January and she initially denied hurting the boy. Prosecutors say she later confessed, saying she intended to teach the boy a lesson about playing with matches.
Arthur allegedly wrote a boy an apology note. She wrote that he did the right thing by telling the truth.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley
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