10-y-o burnt with clothes iron

Citizens inside the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court were left stunned on Thursday, after it was charged that a woman burned a 10-year-old boy with a clothes iron in his back.

Tara Townsend admitted to assault occasioning actual bodily harm when she appeared before Senior Parish Judge Lori-Anne Cole-Montaque. It was shared with the court that there was an argument between Townsend and the child, and sometime thereafter, she used an iron to burn him.

According to the child, Townsend said, "Don't f*** wid me pickney. Me a mad b******** woman."

But Townsend explained that she did not burn the child out of malice.

"Me never do it for spite. I was emptying out the water from the iron and he bounced into it," the woman explained.

Cole-Montaque was showed a picture of the 10-year-old's injuries and deemed it to be "a bad burn".

"I commend you mother [the complainant's mother] for not taking matters in your own hands," the judge expressed.

She then ordered that Townsend make compensation in the sum of $250,000, as part of sentencing.

Townsend made a first payment of $27,000 in court and is expected to return to court on November 9, with at least $50,000.