Crime
Man Avoided Getting His Daughter Medical Attention for Third-Degree Burns So He Could Film a Music Video
A Pittsburgh man is accused of delaying medical treatment for his 19-month-old daughter, who was suffering from severe burns, medical attention so he could avoid jail and film a music video.
Aubre McClendon was arrested on Tuesday, November 10, and charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, according to court documents viewed by Globe.
CBS News reported that McClendon was giving his daughter a bath when he stepped out of the room. While he was gone, he claimed the child played with the faucet and turned the temperature up to a scaldingly hot degree.
He reportedly took the child out of the water and noticed redness and burns on her body. The child’s mother, who was at a concert at the time, later said they determined the burns did not look that bad, so they didn’t seek medical treatment.
Instead, the family took the child to her aunt’s house, where her burns were treated with Neosporin, Vaseline and dressings. While the child was recovering, McClendon allegedly left to go film a music video and was gone all of that Sunday into the following Monday. He returned home briefly to drop off first aid supplies to the aunt before leaving to continue filming the music video.
The child’s condition subsequently worsened.
According to WTAE, the girl was taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital in critical condition with third-degree burns. Doctors later determined that burns covered 40 percent of her body and that she may have suffered a head injury. When she arrived at the hospital, she had to be resuscitated and eventually airlifted to a different hospital for specialized treatment.
Three days after her hospitalization, the outlet reported that McClendon contacted a Children, Youth and Families caseworker and admitted that he avoided getting his daughter medical treatment because he had an active arrest warrant.
“I knew if I took her to the hospital, I knew I would get back to jail,” he reportedly said.
McClendon has not issued a public plea in his case yet.
