A Jefferson man faces charges following an alleged incident with a child.

According to court documents, 24-year-old Gerrick Smith has been charged with two Class C Felonies for child endangerment – serious injury and neglect or abandonment of a dependent person. 

The charges stem from an incident on July 19th. A Jefferson Police Officer was notified by the Iowa Department of Human Services of an eight-month-old with severe burns at the hospital. Court documents show Smith was bathing the infant and his young daughter on July 19th between 9 and 10pm. While using a bathing device for the infant, Smith had to use the toilet, which was in the same room, but separated by a partial wall. 

Smith said he heard the faucet turn on all the way to hot and heard his daughter say “hot” and the infant started crying. Smith thought the burn looked like a sunburn and applied a cream balm and put on a new diaper. The next morning, the burned diaper area had blistered, and the baby was taken to St. Anthony’s Regional Hospital in Carroll and was later transported to the burn unit at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The officer found out that the infant had severe second degree burns on eight-percent of its body. The caring physician said if the child had been seen by a medical professional sooner, the risk of infection would’ve been lower and pain from the burns would’ve been reduced.

Smith was arrested Sunday and booked and remains in the Greene County Jail under a $10,000 bond. Raccoon Valley Radio will bring you more information as it becomes official.