Note: This story was updated at 11:05 a.m. April 17.

Oak Ridge Today/WYSH Radio

An Oak Ridge woman will spend the next 15 to 25 years in a state penitentiary after an Anderson County jury needed less than 20 minutes Tuesday to convict her of aggravated child neglect following a trial in Anderson County Criminal Court.

Melissa Lopez, 37, was charged with failing or refusing to seek emergency medical care for her then-10-month-old son, who had suffered what the Anderson County District Attorney’s Office described as “horrible,” second-degree chemical or thermal burns to his skin and injuries to his eyes in November 2008.

The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services began an investigation after someone called and told them about the infant’s injuries, and DCS workers compelled Lopez to take the boy to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, where he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit for treatment of his skin burns, eyes, and management of his pain. [Read more…]