Mother accused of burning son, 2, with cigarettes while father watched

EAST PITTSBURGH, Pa. — An East Pittsburgh mother and her boyfriend were arrested after doctors discovered burns on their 2-year-old son.

The boy’s sister told investigators their mother burned him with a cigarette, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Channel 11 News. %

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Anna Russell, 19, and Enrique Soto, 25, face charges of assault and child endangerment in connection with the incident at the Highland Manor apartments.

The criminal complaint states that when the boy’s grandmother brought him to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC in August, doctors found 15 burn marks on the boy’s face, chest, neck, back, left arm, left hand and both legs.

The paperwork says the doctor who examined the boy likened the incident to torture, telling investigators “each burn would represent an agonizingly painful event the child was experiencing.”

The boy’s 3-year-old sister told case workers she witnessed her mother burning her brother while her mother’s boyfriend “laughed the whole time.”

“I do think this little girl was coached,” Norma Jo Lowery, Soto’s mother, said. “He would never ever, ever harm his child or allow anyone to harm his child.”

Soto’s mother and sister told Channel 11’s Renee Kaminski that he is innocent and that what the 3-year-old said is not true.

“He even made a comment to me he'd rather not be alive than be accused of something like this,” Lowery said.

Monica Soto, Enrique Soto’s sister, also can’t believe what her brother is accused of and is standing by him.

“He could never do this ever in a million years,” she said.

Russell and Enrique Soto remained in the Allegheny County jail Friday. The children were placed into foster care.

Cox Media Group