Sentence Issued in Scalding

An Oxnard woman whose husband is accused of submerging their young son in a bathtub of scalding water after he soiled his pants was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison for her role in the incident.

Maria Esquivel, 27, had pleaded guilty last year to child endangerment with great bodily injury in connection with the Dec. 22, 2001, scalding. Her husband, Alfredo Esquivel, 27, is scheduled to go on trial later this month.

According to authorities, Alfredo Esquivel plunged his son into 145-degree water after he soiled his pants. Fabian, who turned 3 on Christmas Day, suffered second- and third-degree burns on 20% of his body from the waist down and required skin-replacement surgery.

Maria Esquivel was accused of encouraging her husband not to take the boy immediately to a hospital.

San Diego County authorities notified Oxnard police of the child-abuse case after the boy’s grandmother brought him to a Tijuana hospital, which then transferred him to UC San Diego Medical Center. Police said the couple had attempted to treat the boy’s burns using home remedies, including egg whites and aloe vera, which resulted in life-threatening infections.

Alfred Esquivel is charged with seven felony counts, including torture. He faces a possible life sentence.