New details were revealed in court Monday about two women charged over a month after a 4-year-old girl suffered second and third degree burns over large portions of her body at their Seekonk, Massachusetts, home.
The girl's mother, 38-year-old Guilene Gerome, and her aunt, 44-year-old Franzceska Gerome, were both taken into custody by Seekonk police on Saturday night and charged with reckless endangerment of a child and permitting substantial injury to a child in connection with the incident that occurred on Oct. 8, according to the Bristol District Attorney's Office. The aunt was also charged with assault and battery on a child with substantial injury.
Both women were arraigned in Taunton District Court on Monday, according to WJAR. It was not immediately clear if either had obtained an attorney.
Before Monday, authorities had said only that Seekonk police had responded to an Oak Hill Avenue home around noon on Oct. 9 for a report of a 4-year-old girl with significant burns over large portions of her body. According to the district attorney's office, the little girl was in critical condition by the time she arrived at Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence. Her body was in shock due to the burns she suffered, and her organs were not functioning properly, which put her at risk of cardiac arrest.
The child has since been stabilized but remains hospitalized more than a month after the incident occurred, the district attorney's office said.
Prosecutors said in court Monday that Franzceska Gerome said she was watching her 4-year-old niece on Oct. 8 when the girl fell into a fire pit. She told investigators she didn't see any injuries on the child's body.
Guilene Gerome, the girl's mother, came home a few hours later and saw blisters, prosectors said.
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By the following morning, the mother said the child's skin was falling off, but the aunt insisted the child was fine. Prosecutors said it wasn't until 17 hours after the initial incident that one of the women called 911.
"On arrival to the emergency room, the victim’s presentation was consistent with shock, with low blood pressure, elevated heart rate, dehydration, metabolic acidosis, and high levels of potassium which put her at risk," prosecutor Matthew Lopes said Monday. "Her extensive burns were not appropriately treated immediately."
