The boy lived but was in the hospital for three months with 2nd and 3rd degree burns on 40% of his body. The scum that did this, Juan Miguel Vasquez, deserves to die for what he did to that poor child. Instead, the judiciary ruled that judges in the case must take into account his financial means when setting bail. Apparently being poor mitigates being a child torturer:
Bail for a Whitefish man accused of forcing his girlfriend’s 5-year-old child into a bathtub full of scalding water, severely burning the boy, has been reduced to $50,000.
Juan Miguel Vasquez, 28, previously had been required to post $120,000 bail before being released.
Following an order from the Montana Supreme Court, Flathead County District Court Judge Stewart E. Stadler took Vasquez’s financial situation into account during the hearing Thursday.
Vasquez’s father testified briefly about the limited financial resources he and his family could contribute.
Should he post bond, Vasquez must appear in front of a judge before being released.
At a previous bond reduction hearing, Vasquez — who has limited mobility from a serious back injury and has extensive family connections in Northwest Montana — testified he was not a flight risk.
I’m sure. Odds are he’ll either kill the victim or jump bail as soon as he’s out. A man that would scald a child like this is capable of anything and needs to be remanded:
The Whitefish Police Department responded to the boy’s Ramsey Avenue residence on Oct. 24, 2008 and discovered the severely burned boy.
The boy, who suffered second- and third-degree burns to more than 40 percent of his body, was treated for three months at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
In interviews with a detective from the Seattle Police Department, the boy said that Vasquez put him in the bathtub of scalding water and then forced him to stay there, despite his screams.
According to court documents, a doctor and child-abuse expert at Harborview told investigators the pattern of burns on the boy’s body is consistent with forced immersion.
Vasquez is an animal. And unsurprisingly, the little prince’s crimes don’t end with torturing children:
Vasquez also is facing 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 residence.
Am I wrong or does this mean he was stealing the boy’s painkillers? What kind of monster is this man?
Way to go, Montana. I’m glad the courts there are looking out for people like Vasquez, while not giving a crap about the financial burden the victims of his crime now have in medical bills, and if the victim’s mother is smart, firearms since she’s going to need some guns to protect her son from this animal when the Montana hug-a-thug-a-thon is over and Vasquez gets less time than it’ll take for the boy to recover. Maybe his bail will be higher when he murders the mother and her son?
h/t DodiaFae from Pagans Against Child Abuse
Thanks for posting this, Rob.
Since when do the courts take any alleged criminal’s financial situation into account when setting bail??? If financial situation is taken into consideration at all, it should be to ensure that it makes it as difficult as possible for them to come up with the amount required. I always thought that the purpose of the set amount of bail was to keep it high enough that they couldn’t afford to skip town without getting it back (or skip town at all). So, yes, while this guy has a large circle of contacts in the area, that just means that he’s got a large circle of contacts to help him get away, not to make him want to stay and face charges (which I think should be upgraded to “attempted murder”… what other reason could anyone have to force a defenseless five year old child into a tub of scalding water?)
And this guy obviously either has a drug problem or he’s stealing the meds to make up for his financial loss due to the severe abuse he’s perpetrated. Just another form of victim-blaming.
I spent almost as long at Harborview with my son as the mother of this child did. Met the dad on the 9th floor waiting room and grieved this boys injuries with his mom. He was so brave through all surgeries and let me see what his grafts looked like so that I could be brave for my son and know what you expect.
Vasquez also stole all the donation cans around town AFTER the mother and child were sent to Harborview. What kind of person does this? This vicisous monster should have never been allowed bail or it should have matched this little boys medical bills. What goes around comes around and when you get yours, I hope there’s no mercy.