Primary caregiver dad gets 30 years for "absolute torture" of infant daughter (Milwaukee County, Wisconsin)

I have now posted over 10,000 stores about fathers and child abuse. Not much gets to me anymore. But this literally churns my stomach. Dad is identified as COREY BURNS.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/father-gets-30-years-for-absolute-torture-of-baby-girl-b99526932z1-309904341.html

Father gets 30 years for 'absolute torture' of baby girl

By Ashley Luthern of the Journal Sentinel June 25, 2015

When a 10-month-old baby girl arrived at Children's Hospital last fall, her thighs were wasting away.

The front of her legs were covered with scalding burns, injuries so painful she simply stopped moving.

She had burns inside her mouth. Her neck and body were covered with bite marks and bruises. She had severe brain injuries, the kind that come from being violently shaken, slammed down or thrown.

#And the burn on her back matched the pattern of a charcoal grill in her parents' kitchen.

On Thursday, her father, Corey Burns, was sentenced to just over 30 years in prison for "cruelty and torture," as the case was described in a medical report.

"There are no words that encompass the level of depravity and the inhumanity that was shown to this child over a short period of time," Assistant District Attorney Matthew Torbenson said.

The baby and her mother, Chazzidy White, moved to Wisconsin from Texas in late October. Within days, White had a job and Burns became the child's main caregiver.

On Nov. 5, White called from work to check on the baby. Burns asked her to hurry home, saying their daughter was burned in bathwater. The explanation wasn't plausible, investigators say, because the baby was not burned on her bottom or back of her legs. She was burned only on the front, as if she was dipped in the scalding liquid.

White later told police her daughter's legs looked "like she was skinned."

White wanted to take her to the doctors, but Burns talked her out of it, saying child welfare officials would get involved, according to court documents. A week later, White noticed her daughter had circles on her neck, scratches on her face and bruises on her chin. The baby became lethargic.

On the morning of Nov. 22, White saw a grate burn and bruises on her daughter's back. Burns claimed the baby brushed against a metal heating vent. The burn pattern did not match the vent, but did resemble the markings of a charcoal grill in the kitchen.

"You took a child who was already severely burned over her legs, her lips, who has bite marks and all of these injuries to her body, who is no longer sitting up, who is not making eye contact ... and is basically laying there," Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Rebecca Dallet said.

"And you put her on a grill."

When the baby's back burns were discovered, White took the child to the hospital, where doctors found burns on 15% of her body. She and Burns were arrested. White, 22, pleaded guilty to child neglect and failing to prevent child abuse. She was sentenced in April to two years in prison and five years of extended supervision.

Burns, 21, pleaded guilty to three felonies. Four others were dismissed. When asked if he had anything to say, Burns cleared his throat before a brief statement.

"I apologize for my actions," he said. "I take full responsibility for my actions. And that's it, judge."

Dallet acknowledged Burns had a troubled life and had himself suffered horrific abuse but said nothing explains his actions, which have scarred his daughter for life.

"This was torture, absolute torture of your daughter, and it went on for many, many days," she said. "I see a lot of child abuse cases in here. I see a lot of cases of burns. I have never seen anything like this."