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New York day care provider arrested after 2-year-old left in scalding bath, police say

The toddler suffered burns to about 20 percent of his body, Long Island police said.

A woman on Long Island, New York, placed a 2-year-old boy she was caring for in a scalding bath for several minutes and "left him unattended despite his screams," police said Monday.

Image: Yenci Lopez.
Yenci Lopez.Nassau County Police Department

The toddler, who suffered burns to about 20 percent of his body, was treated at a hospital burn unit for second-degree burns, Nassau County police said.

The woman, Yenci Elizabeth Lopez, 19, left the home in Hempstead, where the incident occurred at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, without providing care for the boy, police said.

Lopez, who was arrested Sunday, was charged with reckless assault of a child by a child day care provider, second-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

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Police said Lopez is a long-term day care provider for the family. A police spokesman said Lopez is related to the victim but did not say how.

Lopez was scheduled to be arraigned Monday. According to court records, she is being represented by the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, which could not immediately be reached for comment.