A two-year-old girl lost some of her fingernails after the man tasked with caring for her allegedly held her hands in boiling water, causing burns of such severity, she required skin grafts, the District Court in Perth has heard.
WARNING: This story contains details that readers may find distressing.
Jaycob Anfernee John Yarran, 25 is on trial charged with causing grievous bodily harm and doing an act causing bodily harm for allegedly using a cigarette lighter and boiling water to burn the toddler.
Mr Yarran was looking after the girl and her four-year-old sister in a home in Maddington, in Perth's southern suburbs, in September 2019 when the alleged abuse took place.
Prosecutor Alan Dungey said when the toddler was taken to hospital, she was found to have "extremely severe" scalding to her hands.
He also told the court the burns went through "all the layers of her skin" and some fingernails fell out and that without grafts, she may have lost the use of her fingers.
She was left permanently scarred and there would need to be frequent medical interventions in the future, the court was told.
The prosecutor said Mr Yarran’s explanation for the injuries was that an accident happened when he was cooking noodles.
His account was that he heard a "clatter" and "splash", and he saw her with "noodles around her hands" and then she slipped and "face planted".
He then called his girlfriend, and they soon took her to the hospital.
Cigarette lighter also allegedly used
The prosecution also alleged a cigarette lighter was held against the girl's skin as she had "imprint burns" on her face and body, the type of which were typically caused by a hot metal object.
Mr Dungey said Mr Yarran agreed the relatively minor burns were caused by cigarette lighters, and said he had left some around the house within reach of the girls.
He denied he had caused any of the burns.
The court heard from Mr Yarran's girlfriend, who said she hadn't left the children in his care before and she had never seen him inflicting burns on them.
In pre-recorded evidence, she said he was "really good with the kids" and they were "always happy to see him" and he had also never been cruel to her pets.
She said after they took the two-year-old to hospital, the girl was very distressed and it was Mr Yarran who held her and calmed her down, "even when they were doing the dressings".
She said there were cigarette lighters in the house because she used to smoke, and Mr Yarran still did.
Accused's explanation 'a lie' says prosecutor
Mr Dungey said there would be expert evidence that the lighter burns could only have been inflicted on the girl if she was restrained, and her four-year-old sister would not have been able to do it.
Expert evidence would also show that splashing could not have caused the severe hand burns, which were more likely the result of a child becoming "trapped" in hot water.
Those injuries were of "equivalent depth on both hands", Mr Dungey told the court, and "in layman's terms, you might call them glove injuries".
Mr Yarran's explanation to the police was "a deliberate lie", the prosecutor told the jury, and while it was "inconceivable to fathom" why such things happened, sometimes children were physically abused.
The court has been shown a video of a police interview with Mr Yarran recorded at the home, where he showed officers a pot on the stove and explained how it may have been pulled over.
He also showed police the shower where he said he took the girl, and a basin where he said he held her under cold water.
Judge Alan Troy told the jury that given the age of the girl and the severity of the injuries, it was likely they would have a reaction.
He said their decision had to be made based on the facts.
The trial is set down for four days.
