Union City Man Arrested in Child Branding Case
WINCHESTER, Ind. (AP) North-central Indiana prosecutors have charged a man with neglect for allegedly 'branding' three children with a medallion heated on a space heater.
Twenty-eight-year-old Jason Michael Mangas of Union City faces three felony counts of neglect of a dependent filed Wednesday. He's being held at the Randolph County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
The Star Press reports court documents say Mangas' four children and a family friend were left in his care the weekend of Jan. 19-20, which is when the three children were allegedly burned.
An 8-year-old girl who was branded told a sheriff's deputy she'd told Mangas she wanted a tattoo.
The affidavit says Mangas heated a necklace on a space heater and placed it on the girl's arm, burning an impression of the necklace's medallion.
