A Jefferson man was recently sentenced to probation for an incident with a child.

According to court documents, 24-year-old Gerrick Smith pled guilty to a Class D Felony for child endangerment-causing serious injury. He had a five year prison sentence suspended and was placed on probation for 3-5 years with the Iowa Department of Corrections. 

The charge stemmed from an incident on July 19, 2021. Smith’s eight-month-old child suffered burns when he was giving the infant and his young daughter a bath. Smith had to use the toilet, which was in the same room but separated by a wall, and heard the faucet turn on and his daughter say “hot” and the infant started crying. Smith did not take the child to a hospital until the next day, when the child was taken from St. Anthony’s Regional Hospital in Carroll to the burn unit in Iowa City.

Smith was also ordered to pay court costs and court-appointed attorney fees.