Trial begins for man accused of burning child

Opening statements during the trial of a Whitefish man told very different stories of how a child sustained severe burns from scalding bath water.

Juan Miguel Vasquez, 28, stood trial Thursday on felony charges of aggravated assault, criminal endangerment and assault on a minor, resulting from allegedly forcing his girlfriend’s 5-year-old child into a bathtub full of scalding water, severely burning the boy.

“[The victim’s] body speaks volumes about what took place that day. Perhaps louder than any other witness in the case,” prosecuting attorney Travis Ahner told the jury during opening statements Thursday afternoon in Flathead County District Court before Judge Stewart Stadler. “You’ll see the lifelong scars [the victim] will live with as a result of the defendant’s actions.”

But defense attorney Noel Larrivee called the incident a “horrible accident” that happened when the child slipped in the tub and remained in the scalding water for a few minutes while Vasquez was in the other room.

The boy suffered second- and third-degree burns to more than 40 percent of his body in the Oct. 24, 2008, incident at a Ramsey Avenue residence.

“In the end, remember what [the victim] tells you, and match up that version, those circumstances, with what the physical evidence points to,” said Ahner.

The prosecution accused Vasquez of telling authorities three different versions of that day’s events.

“You’ll hear how significant details change, and these are details provided by the only adult who was in the house,” said Ahner. He referred to the crime as unplanned child abuse.

“Sometimes that brief moment of anger is followed by a lifetime of remorse, but that doesn’t change what happened in that brief moment. That doesn’t change the fact that a crime was still committed during that brief moment,” he said.

The defense painted a vastly different picture of the October events, describing Vasquez as caring and a stable influence who looked out for and cared for the child.

“You’re being asked to believe that somehow he snapped and hurt a little boy he’d been raising and then realized all of a sudden he must have done something wrong,” Larrivee said.

He described how Vasquez started the water, then stepped out to do laundry in the next room.

Meanwhile, he said, the child stood in the small tub and reached up to adjust the water’s temperature. But the water quickly turned scalding, causing the child to recoil, slip, fall and hit his head, said Larrivee, which made it impossible for him to get out. He described a cut on the back of the victim’s head he said no one had explained and said the tops of the child’s knees were not burned.

He asked the jury not to convict a man for something he didn’t do.

Vasquez has been released since posting $50,000 bond on Nov. 17, 2009.

In a separate case, Vasquez also faces one count of fraudulently obtaining dangerous drugs, a felony.

He allegedly signed for three of his girlfriend’s prescriptions in her name at a Whitefish pharmacy while she was out of state at the hospital with her injured son.

Vasquez’s girlfriend told investigators she did not receive the prescriptions — which included painkillers and sleeping pills — and they were not found at their home.

If convicted of abusing the boy, Vasquez could face as long as 35 years in prison and a $150,000 fine.

He could face an additional five years in prison and $50,000 in fines if convicted on the drug charges.

Testimony starts today and the trial is expected to continue through next week.