The Galveston County Daily News

An Arkansas man charged with burning his infant daughter in a microwave oven faces a grand jury today.

Joshua Mauldin, 19, was in the Galveston County jail Tuesday under $250,000 bond.

Mauldin’s 2-month-old daughter was at another facility on the island — Shriners Burns Hospital.

Doctors Tuesday were attempting skin-graft surgery to treat third-degree burns the infant suffered to the left side of her face and left hand.

Mauldin called 911 on Thursday to report that his daughter had been burned in the Seawall Boulevard hotel room the two shared with Mauldin’s wife and mother. Mauldin told officials that he was carrying a pot of hot water to make coffee when he tripped and spilled the water onto the baby.

However, police Sgt. Annie Almendarez said investigators later decided the child’s injuries were not consistent with that story.

The family got to the hotel last week. Mauldin told investigators God had ordered him to go to Galveston, according to police reports.

The baby’s injury occurred Thursday, while the infant’s mother and Mauldin’s mother were at a nearby restaurant, picking up dinner for the three adults.

Almendarez said investigators believed the child was in the microwave oven for 10 to 20 seconds.

Police allege the child had injuries indicating other attacks, but Almendarez said Tuesday she could not comment on those because the investigation still was under way.

Mauldin’s criminal background includes an arrest in October on a charge of third-degree battery and one last month on a charge of violation of a protective order.

Both charges come from Arkansas, where Mauldin resides. In both cases, the listed victim was the infant’s mother, one of the women sharing the Galveston hotel room with Mauldin.

Mauldin now faces a charge of injury to a child, causing serious bodily harm. The charge carries a possible prison term of five to 99 years, as well as a fine of up to $10,000.