Man Jailed After Repeatedly Burning His Children With Make-Shift Blow Torch

Amy · #1 ● 01-09-2012, 01:05 PM

Abingdon, MD - Steven Kenneth Helgason, a 44-year-old Whiteford man was jailed after he allegedly used a lighter and aerosol can to torch his childrens' hair.

According to police, officers were called after a boy arrived at a Sports Clips hair salon in Abingdon with hair that was noticeably burned.

In the investigation that followed, the boy and at least his three of his eight siblings told police that they had been injured by their father - who used a make-shift torch to burn them.

Helgason reportedly used a lighter and an Axe deoderant spray can to create the torch. The ages of the victims listed in the police report ranged from 6-years-old to 13-years-old.

In addition to the alleged burnings, one victim told police that his father had stripped him before hanging him upside down. Some of the children also stated that their oldest brother also burned them after their father had ordered him to do so.

The victims told police that their father torched them up to a hundred times using the same method.

Helgason was booked into jail and charged with four counts of second-degree child abuse. He is currently being held without bail.

Court records indicate that Helgason was convicted of assault in 2006 and child abuse in 1998. The child abuse incident was also the grounds by which Helgason's ex-wife sought a divorce.

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