LANCASTER, Pa. – A Connecticut man is being held on charges that he beat and burned his Pennsylvania girlfriend's 18-month-old son while she was at hairdressing school.
Police say 27-year-old Joey Melendez of Plainfield, Conn., has been arraigned on charges including aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
District Judge Maynard Hamilton Jr. has ordered him held in Lancaster County Prison on $150,000 bail. It's not immediately known if he has an attorney.
West Lampeter Township Police Corporal Kirk Bedsole says Melendez is accused of burning the toddler, kneeing him, whipping him with a belt and beating him with a shoe. He says emergency room doctors say the beatings took place over several hours Tuesday night.
Neighbors heard screams and called police. Bedsole says Melendez gave excuses that did not fit with the severity of the injuries.
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