A Texas man faces a lengthy prison sentence after being found guilty of inflicting severe burns on a toddler by immersing her in scalding water.

Earlier this year, following a four-day bench trial, Miguel Santiago Gonzalez, aged 28, was convicted by a judge for deliberately causing serious bodily harm to the 20-month-old child. The trial highlighted the grievous nature of the injuries inflicted on the young victim.

This past Thursday, Judge Todd Kassaw of the 159th District Court delivered a life sentence to Gonzalez, marking the maximum penalty under Texas law for this egregious act. The ruling underscores the gravity of the crime committed.

Angelina County District Attorney Amy Wren commented on the harsh sentence, stating, “Gonzalez sentenced an innocent child to a life of ongoing pain filled with surgeries and uncertainty about what the future holds.” Her statement, shared with The Lufkin Daily News, emphasized how the court’s decision reflects the severe impact of Gonzalez’s actions on both the child and her family.

The incident that led to this conviction took place in September 2022. On that day, authorities from the Lufkin Police Department were alerted by Woodland Heights Medical Center about the child’s injuries, initiating the investigation that culminated in Gonzalez’s conviction.

On the day in question, the Lufkin Police Department was called by Woodland Heights Medical Center regarding the injuries.

Gonzalez – who was the child’s mother’s boyfriend at the time – was asked about the burns but refused to cooperate at the hospital, leading law enforcement to arrest him on an outstanding warrant, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Tyler-based ABC and Telemundo affiliate KLTV.

After being arrested, however, the defendant gave a custodial interview about the burning incident from his perspective.

To hear Gonzalez tell it, he had been bathing the child while the child’s mother was away at work. The defendant further claimed the bathwater had been set to lukewarm before he stepped out of the room, leaving the child unattended for what he described as “two minutes” while he spoke with a roommate in a nearby hallway – though he insisted he remained “within earshot of the bathroom,” according to the affidavit.

When he returned, the child had seemingly managed to turn the faucet to hot. By the time the adult intervened, the burns were so severe that the girl’s skin had already begun to peel away.

But a review of the child’s injuries by an expert told a different story.

Investigators concluded the pattern of burns was consistent with what is commonly described as “immersion abuse,” police said.

The burn marks notably spared the child’s upper torso and areas above the torso and there was an absence of the irregular burn patterns that would typically occur if a child had been splashing or struggling in hot water after being left unattended. Given the child’s age, investigators further reasoned there was “little chance” the child would have remained silent in such extreme pain or failed to attempt climbing out of the bathtub on her own, according to the affidavit.

Other evidence painted a stark and awful picture.

“Detectives completed the emergency burn tests checklist, and found the max water temperature to be 143 degrees Fahrenheit,” the affidavit reads.

In the aftermath of the horrific abuse, the little girl suffered burn marks over more than half of her body, has scars that will last her whole life, and has undergone myriad surgeries. As she grows, additional surgeries will be necessary to deal with the burns.

During the sentencing hearing, the defense asked for leniency due to Gonzalez’s lack of criminal history and a series of support letters, according to a courtroom report by Lufkin-based ABC and Telemundo affiliate KTRE. That evidence was disputed.

Prosecutors challenged the letters as unreliable. Then, the mother of the victim addressed the court to allege that Gonzalez had previously beaten her to the point that she needed several stitches.

“It’s been a rough road, but now we can breathe,” the child’s grandmother told KTRE after the hearing. “We are happy with the verdict. Justice has been served.”

Gonzalez will have to serve 30 years before he is eligible for parole.