Woman sets five-year-old stepdaughter’s face on fire as punishment for yelling

20-year-old charged with felony injury to a child

Jimenez initially blamed the burns on an accident, police say (Grand Prairie Police/AP)

A woman doused her five-year-old stepdaughter’s face with rubbing alcohol and set it on fire as a punishment for yelling, police say.

Dalia Jimenez, 20, from Dallas, has been charged with felony injury to a child and has been freed on a $20,000 (£15,800) bond.

Officers went to the family home after a child had been reported as burnt and needing medical treatment.

They said Jimenez initially blamed the burns on an accident while lighting a candle, but after detectives found inconsistencies in her account, she admitted that she burnt the girl’s face.

“It was about an hour-long conversation, but ultimately at the end of that conversation she did confess to me that she had intentionally burnt the five-year-old for yelling previously in the home,” said Detective Greg Parker, CBS DFW reported.

“The burns extended on both sides of her cheeks and just a little bit down to below her jawline, small burns on her shoulder as well.”

The girl reportedly told investigators that her stepmother hit her repeatedly with a belt and burnt her.

She was treated for first- and second-degree burns in hospital and later released, according to NBC5.

Child-protection services have placed her and a younger sibling with relatives.

The child’s father was not home at the time and is not considered a suspect.