Man Accused of Burning Child’s Face with Lit Cigarette

A 28-year-old Richland man is in custody after an investigation led to allegations he extinguished a lit cigarette by pressing it against a child's face just below their eye.

The issue actually began October 20th, when police got a call about a child who was seen walking around naked outside for a prolonged period of time. When police arrived in the Richland neighborhood, they found two children, ages 1 and 3, outside. They were naked, had feces on their legs and were not wearing diapers. They also had extensive bed bug bite marks.

A woman at the scene told officers she and Xavier Calhoun, the suspect, had been using meth and had been high during the evening. The children, said the woman, were hers from previous relationship. During the investigation, police noticed a burn injury under one of the 3-year-old's eyes. It appeared to be several days old.

The woman said Calhoun didn't mean to burn the child, it was an accident, but she also said last weekend he assaulted her.  After more investigating and talking with the child, it's believed Calhoun held the lighted cigarette tip against the child's skin until it was out, and it was done on purpose.

He's now facing additional charges of suspicion of assault on a child. Calhoun had been arrested after the initial investigation for the alleged assault on the woman and other charges, then released pending trial. Now, he's facing the additional charges and is back in jail. The children have been taken into Child Protective Services.