By Shereen Siewert
A Weston man convicted of scalding a 16-month old boy was sentenced Thursday, nearly two years after the boy was injured.
Christopher Kolden was 22 when he dipped the boy’s face in 177-degree water, according to court records. Now 24, Kolden will spend more than three years in prison on felony child abuse charges. Marathon County Circuit Judge LaMont Jacobson sentenced Kolden to five years in prison, but allowed Kolden credit for the nearly two years he spent behind bars awaiting trial.
Kolden was convicted of the crime in February.
Charges were filed in March 2015 after Kolden, the live-in boyfriend of the victim’s mother, told police the boy turned on a bathtub faucet and burned his face when Kolden left the bathroom briefly to fetch a diaper and clothing.
But a child abuse expert told police that the child’s injuries were inconsistent with Kolden’s explanation, according to the criminal complaint. Dr. Barbara Knox, medical director of the University of Wisconsin Health Pediatric Child Protection Clinic, told police the boy’s face was definitely dipped into extremely hot water, which may have not been in the bathtub at all, according to court records.
Kolden, who has no previous criminal record in Wisconsin, will also spend five years on extended supervision after he is released from prison.
