A 22-year-old Perth man accused of using a cigarette lighter and boiling water to deliberately inflict serious burns on a two-year-old girl he was looking after claims she pulled a pot of boiling noodles onto herself.
Jaycob Anfernee John Yarran was charged by officers from the child abuse squad after the girl was taken to hospital earlier this week.
It is alleged the child suffered the burns while Mr Yarran was caring for her and her four-year-old sister at the Maddington home of their aunt, Teeana Sorrell, who is his partner.
Mr Yarran appeared in the Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday, which was told the girl suffered injuries to her torso, believed to have been caused by a cigarette lighter.
She also had third-degree burns to her hands, which medical staff said were consistent with her hands being placed in boiling water.
In opposing Mr Yarran's bail application, the police prosecutor said the girl was still in hospital and was likely to have to undergo numerous surgeries and may lose part of one of her fingers.
He also said that after the girl was injured, Mr Yarran had called his partner who told him to call an ambulance, but he refused because of the cost, and put the girl in the shower.
The child was eventually taken to Armadale hospital by a ride-sharing service, before she was transferred to the Perth Children's hospital.
In an interview with police, Mr Yarran maintained the girl suffered the injuries after pulling a pot of noodles off the stove and she had then been holding some of the hot noodles in her hands.
However the prosecutor said medical staff believed her injuries were "not in keeping with the mechanism" described by Mr Yarran.
The court was told that when police searched his home they found it to be in an unclean state, with dog faeces and urine on the floor and dishes in the sink.
The prosecutor said the girl's sister had been interviewed by specialist child police and she had made claims about Mr Yarran "hurting her sister with a firelighter".
Mr Yarran's lawyer, Mark Gunning, said his client was not a flight risk and had the support of his family, including his partner, who stood up in court on Thursday and told the Magistrate she was happy for him to continue living with her.
Magistrate Edward De Vries said while the allegations were extremely serious, Mr Yarran, like all accused people, is presumed innocent until proven otherwise.
He granted Mr Yarran bail of a $2,500 personal undertaking and imposed conditions that he not contact, directly or indirectly, the two-year-old girl and her sister.
Mr Yarran is due back in court later this month.
