Father charged with burning baby in microwave

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A teenage father has been indicted in Texas on charges he burned his 2-month-old daughter in a hotel microwave oven, a prosecutor said on Thursday.

Joshua Mauldin, 19, who was visiting Galveston, Texas, from Arkansas with family members, was indicted by a grand jury on one charge of felony injury to a child, said Assistant District Attorney Xochitl Vandiver.

The charge carries a prison sentence of five to 99 years, Vandiver said. Mauldin was being held in the county jail in Galveston, on $250,000 (126,600 pound) bond, a jail spokesman said.

The baby girl was hospitalized with burns on her face and one hand, according to television and newspaper reports.

"Her injuries are pretty significant," said Vandiver, who prosecutes child-abuse charges. She called the case, "unusual and horrific. I've never seen anything like it."

Mauldin initially told police the baby was burned when he stumbled and spilled hot water on her, according to the Houston Chronicle. Later, he said he placed the baby into the microwave oven because he was under stress, the newspaper said.