Man Rubbed Hot Sauce On His Newborn’s Face, Threw Firecrackers At Her

A Minnesota man, who physically abused his two-month-old daughter for a month as he knew she could not complain about his actions, was sentenced to 30 months in prison on Wednesday.

Shawn Michael Foltz, 42, admitted to third-degree felony charges for assaulting a victim under four years, that included rubbing hot sauce and cayenne pepper on his daughter’s eyes, mouth and nose, among a list of vile and twisted tortures, Metro reported.

The abuses were carried out by Foltz over a month-long period in 2017. Finally, in May the same year, the staff at Essentia Health, the hospital where the victim was being treated for bruises and red marks all over her body, informed the police about suspected abuse and Foltz was arrested.

The child’s mother, Belinda Bailer, had left her with Foltz for a day, during which, he later admitted to the authorities, he had snapped a towel in the baby's face and also used a wooden spoon to hit her on the bottom in order to stop her from crying.

At one point, Foltz texted his presently-divorced wife pictures of the baby foaming at her mouth, with red, swollen eyes. Although her husband insisted that the injuries “looked worse than (they) really were,” Bailer called EMTs (emergency medical technicians), who in turn summoned the police.

According to court records, Foltz thought of new ways of torturing his infant daughter while he was at work.

In a number of instances, Foltz also threw lit fireworks at his daughter, deliberately pressed down on her chest, and dunked her into hot as well as cold water. Once, he struck her so hard with a piece of wood that she soiled herself.

But perhaps the most horrifying of the tortures inflicted on the newborn was when Foltz held her nose and mouth until she turned blue. Initially, Foltz tried to blame the injuries on his then three-year-old son. However upon further probing, he admitted to hurting the newborn.

According to his sentence, Foltz was required to spend at least 20 months in prison, after which he was eligible to spend the remaining 10 months under supervised release.

Foltz’ former wife appeared in the trial and said although their daughter was in a healthy condition, after receiving treatment, the psychological impact might take longer to heal. She also explained that she will probably never be able to tell her daughter about her father’s monstrous actions or why he was absent from their lives.

"I felt like I did not know the man I was married to," Bailer said, CBS affiliated KNOE reported.

She added that although their son escaped the main brunt of Foltz’s actions, he did witness some of the incidents, causing him to seek therapy.

Judge Amber Gusafston told Foltz: "There’s no sentence that can undo the damage inflicted on your daughter."

In addition to jail time, the court ordered Foltz to pay more than $6000 in restitution.