Background: The neighborhood on Barks Drive in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (Google Maps). Inset: Jeny Soto-Duenas (Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office).
A Florida woman was arrested after two children she was caring for were taken to the hospital with burns on their hands.
In a post on Facebook, the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office said that Jeny Soto-Duenas, 52, was charged with child neglect causing great bodily harm. Police said that during the early morning hours on Tuesday, Soto-Duenas was watching two children, ages 3 and 5 years old, at a trailer home in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. A family member told police that Soto-Duenas allegedly admitted that she intentionally burned the children's hands by holding them down on a griddle.
According to police, she burned the children because they asked for more food after they had already eaten.
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Police said that the children were brought to a Florida hospital on Tuesday night with "severe untreated burns on the palms of their hands." When the relative spoke to Soto-Duenas, she allegedly said that she became "frustrated" with the children for asking for more food, so she "intentionally placed both of the victims' hands on a hot griddle and held them down." According to police, Soto-Duenas did not provide the children with any medical treatment for the burns.
The alleged incident caused second- and third-degree burns to the children's palms. They were both taken to a burn center in Alabama for further treatment.
Soto-Duenas was arrested on Wednesday. She is being held without bail at Okaloosa County Jail. The sheriff's office also noted that she was on an ICE hold.