Dad arraigned for burning 6-year-old son with cigarette lighter (Green River, Wyoming)

Dad is identified as ROBERT WILLIAM MCMULLAN.

http://www.greenriverstar.com/news/article_55268aaa-0eab-11e4-b337-0019bb2963f4.html

Man arraigned for burn

Posted: Friday, July 18, 2014 3:00 pm
By STEPHANIE THOMPSON People Editor

The father of a six-year-old boy could spend up to five years in prison for allegedly burning the boy with a cigarette lighter.

Robert William McMullan appeared at an arraignment in the Third District Court of Judge Nena James to a felony child abuse charge. He pleaded innocent to the charge that carries a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and $10,000 fine.

According to court documents, on Jan. 15, 2014, a Green River Police officer was advised that a six-year-old boy may have been abused. The boy had told a school employee that his dad had burned him with a lighter.

The boy also told a Department of Family Services employee that he was playing with a lighter that he found behind his bed. He said he and his brother were trying to light a candle with the lighter when his dad, McMullan, came into the room and caught them. The boy said his father was angered and allegedly held the lighter to the boy’s hand. He said he cried when his dad did that because it hurt.

The boy’s five-year-old brother apparently told school employees that his father had held a lighter to his brother’s hand and it hurt his brother.

Bree McMullan, the mother of the children, was also interviewed by the officer.

She said she was still in the front room when her husband went to see what the children were doing. She said she heard Robert say “Do you want to know what it feels like to get burned?”

She said she does not believe Robert burned her son. She said her son did have a burn though and she put mustard on the hand and wrapped his hand with a bandage.

Robert was interviewed and said he did not burn his son with the lighter. He said he was holding it about three inches from his son’s hand.

The officer and DFS employee noticed a circular burn mark on the boy’s hand that had blistered.