PONTIAC, Mich. – A Pontiac mother is facing charges after she admitted to authorities that she put her 1-year-old son in scalding water because she was frustrated.
Authorities said they received a call at 12:05 p.m. on May 10 to a home in the 100 block of Apple Lane.
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The victim's mother, Carmen Ann Smith-Portee, told authorities she was running water to give her son a bath. She said she left him in a separate room while she got cleaning supplies. She said she returned to the bathroom and found the baby burned and screaming because he climbed into the bathtub.
Smith-Portee later admitted to authorities that she had placed her son into the water.
The child suffered burns on his arm, back and forehead. He was taken to St. Joseph’s Mercy Oakland and then referred to the Detroit Children’s Hospital Burn Unit for further treatment, and a Child Protective Services referral was completed.
Smith-Portee was charged with first-degree child abuse and her bond was set at $100,000. she is due back in court June 7. The child remains in critical condition.
Smith-Portee has three other children who have been placed with other family members. She had an outstanding misdemeanor warrant for third-degree retail fraud and a bench warrant for traffic violations.