A 21-year-old Canadian man has been charged with criminal negligence and assault after he put his girlfriend's 10-month-old feverish daughter in the freezer to cool off her body temperature.
Derrick Hardy, who is pleading guilty to the assault, claims that he was concerned about the infant's fever. Hardy said that when he tried placing a damp cloth and carrying the girl outside into the cool air, but it didn't work, he felt helpless.
He then placed the baby, who was wearing only an undershirt, in the freezer. She suffered first- and second-degree freezer burns, when taken to hospital after the mother discovered her.
The girlfriend claims that the baby was "crying, sobbing and terrified" in the freezer with the door closed.
However, Hardy claims the child was only in there about 40 seconds and that he left the door open. The girl is now in the care of a grandparent.
