GALVESTON - A 19-year-old has been charged with injury to a child after police said his 2-month-old daughter was burned when he placed her in a microwave.

Joshua Mauldin

Joshua Mauldin of Arkansas was in the Galveston County jail early Wednesday. Mauldin, whose bond is set at $250,000, is set to go before a grand jury Wednesday.

He faces a charge of injury to a child, causing serious bodily harm. The charge carries a possible prison term of five to 99 years, as well as a fine of up to $10,000.

At Shriners Burns Hospital on Tuesday, doctors treated third-degree burns the infant suffered to the left side of her face and left hand.

Maudlin arrived at a Galveston hotel last week along with the baby, his wife and mother. He called 911 on Thursday, saying that his baby had been burned in the hotel room when he tripped while carrying a pot of hot water to make coffee.

But police Sgt. Annie Almendarez said investigators later decided the child’s injuries were not consistent with that story.  She said investigators believe the child was in the microwave for 10 to 20 seconds.

At the time the child was injured, her mother and Mauldin’s mother were picking up dinner at a nearby restaurant.

According to police reports, Mauldin told investigators God ordered him to go to Galveston.