Man Sentenced to 9 Years for Child Abuse

VAN NUYS â€”  A 20-year-old Sherman Oaks man who branded his girlfriend’s toddler repeatedly with a hot fork was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison for child abuse.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Jennifer Turkat said Christopher Ryan Scott and his girlfriend took the 16-month-old boy to Sherman Oaks Hospital in June, showing doctors “red marks� they claimed the boy must have inflicted on himself.

A burn specialist testified that, to have made the injuries, the fork had to have been reheated at least once during the attack. Turkat said 10 blistered second- and third-degree burns, clearly showing the tines of a fork, covered the boy’s chest, back and inner thigh.

“They were really horrible,� Turkat said. “All baby skin is sensitive, but some of these were on particularly sensitive parts of the body. There was one on the inner thigh. One was on the chest, with the tines going over the nipple.�

Scott has a criminal record for theft-related charges but has never been arrested for violent crimes or crimes against children, Turkat said.

Scott has consistently denied the attack, but admitted being alone with the victim in the kitchen as the child’s mother was in the shower, Turkat said. Scott said he was using a kitchen fork to handle processed turkey he was heating in a skillet for a sandwich.

Prosecutors filed charges of child abuse causing great bodily injury and torture, which carries a life sentence.

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Last month a jury convicted Scott of child abuse but acquitted him on the torture charge.

“With torture, you have to prove the intent was sadism or persuasion or extortion,� Turkat said. “I argued that why else would you do something so horrible on such sensitive areas of the body if not for pleasure.�

Turkat said the child was hospitalized for more than a week as doctors removed the burnt skin and used cadaver skin for grafts. She said the child is not expected to have permanent scarring.

During the trial, Deputy Public Defender Noel Russo claimed the child’s mother was the more likely culprit. Russo said a friend testified to having seen the mother hit the child in the past.

Scott also took the stand to deny burning the child.

Scott did not address the court Friday. He listened as Russo argued for probation, saying Scott has never before shown any propensity toward violence.

Russo said Scott was an honor student and member of the basketball team in high school in Ohio, where he grew up. She said he was also playing basketball and taking classes at Valley College when the incident occurred.

According to a probation report, Scott had been living with the child’s mother for 10 months before the attack.

“This was a young man who was thrust into a situation where he was a caretaker of a young child without any experience,� Russo said. “I think a commitment to the California Department of Corrections would be negative and counterproductive in this particular case.�

Superior Court Judge Sandy Kriegler said the crime was too serious to even consider probation. He imposed the maximum sentence.

“We’re talking about a young child, a defenseless child,� Kriegler said. “Society has an interest in affording the greatest degree of protection to those who cannot protect themselves.�

Scott will not be eligible for parole until 2005.