Man Accused of Abusing Girlfriend's 7-Year-Old Son With Hot Curling Iron

CHICAGO, IL — The boyfriend of the South Side mother accused of severely beating her 7-year-old son, who was found running in a diaper along Lake Shore Drive, also has been charged in the child's abuse case, according to DNAinfo.com.

Andrew Richardson was charged Thursday with aggravated battery and aggravated battery using a deadly weapon after he was arrested in Los Angeles earlier this week, the report stated. He's being held on $1 million bail, the report added.

During his hearing Thursday, prosecutors claimed Richardson beat the son of his girlfriend, Caroline Woods, as well as allegedly burning child's genitalia with a curling iron, the report stated. The couple also reportedly fed the boy infrequently, giving him cans of okra and protein shakes, the report added.

Earlier this month, Woods, 24, was charged with battery and is being held without bail after police picked up her son Oct. 2 when they received a 911 call of a boy running along Lake Shore Drive, near 47th Street, wearing a pull-up diaper. The boy told authorities that Woods would frequently hit him with a baseball bat and an extension cord and that he was forced to sit on a hot stove and sleep in a closet.

RELATED: Mom Forced 7-Year-Old Son to Sit on Hot Stove: Prosecutors

A doctor who examined the 7-year-old said the child had a shocking amount of burns and bruises over his body.

The boy lived with Woods and Richardson in the Kenwood neighborhood, but he is not Richardson's biological son, the report stated. Woods and Richardson have a 2-year-old daughter together, the report added.

Both children were taken into protective custody by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

More via DNAinfo.com

photo via Shutterstock

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