Man Once Accused of Putting Child in Oven Now Arrested for Pouring Boiling Water on Toddler

Terry May stands accused of child abuse. Volusia County Sheriff’s Office

A Florida man previously arrested for putting a three-year-old girl in a hot oven has been arrested again after allegedly pouring boiling water on a three-year-old boy.

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that 47-year-old Terry May was arrested on Oct. 10 for allegedly pouring boiling water on a toddler for accidentally urinating on the floor.

May’s arrest followed a warrant issued last week on a charge of child abuse causing great bodily harm.

‘Terry Burned Me’

Sheriff Mike Chitwood said that a deputy first responded to this child abuse call on Sept. 27, after the victim’s daycare instructors spotted a burn mark on the child’s back.

Chitwood said the investigation found that May had disciplined the three-year-old for urinating on the floor by pouring boiling water onto his body.

The sheriff said the victim told one of the deputies: “Terry burned me.”

“The poor kid has a burn mark across his back,” Chitwood said in a post on Twitter.

“The word ‘bully’ gets thrown around a lot, but to me there is no bigger bully than the kind of coward who picks on 3-year-olds,” the sheriff added.

May’s bond is currently set at $250,000.

Terry May stands accused of child abuse. Volusia County Sheriff’s Office

‘Burned Her In an Oven’

Chitwood said that May faced charges in 2018 stemming from an incident in which he allegedly abused a little girl.

In a statement on Jan. 24, 2018, Chitwood wrote: “Help us put the coward Terry May behind bars! I believe his 3-year-old victim is tougher than he is.”

In an Oct. 3 post on Twitter, the sheriff explained the status of those charges.

“Last year we arrested Terry May on a charge of abusing a 3-year-old girl who said he beat her with a belt and burned her in an oven,” Chitwood said. “Unfortunately it was her word against Terry’s, and prosecutors weren’t able to make the case. The charge was dropped.”

Regarding the 2018 charges, May’s family members claimed his innocence, WKMG reported, and said it’s a case of false accusation.

“He loves children. He never beat any children or put them in no oven. I don’t know why she told that little girl to tell that lie,” May’s mother said, according to WKMG.

The little girl allegedly sustained the injuries while being looked after by May. Her mother contacted the police when she saw the child’s wounds.

Police said the toddler suffered a number of injuries, including burn marks on her ear, cuts, and abrasions on different parts of her body and a 6-inch scar on her back. The child reportedly told detectives that May beat her “frequently” with a belt and put her in an oven.

Speaking to FOX35 Orlando, Chitwood said at the time that the girl suffered grievous mistreatment at the hands of the accused.

“It just boggles my mind you would torment and beat and place a kid in the oven and yet you walk around on two feet,” Chitwood told reporters on Wednesday. “Animals don’t treat their kids the way this guy treated this little girl.

“When you look at the pictures and read the affidavit and see what this human piece of garbage did to a 3-year-old little girl—he burned her, he beat her, beat her with a belt, then placed her in an oven,” Chitwood said.

After posting a $50,000 bond, May was released from the Volusia County Jail.

According to the Florida Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers, one report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds in the United States, and over the past 10 years, over 20,000 children are believed to have been killed by family members.