Freeport parents accused of burning, starving and assaulting 3-year-old girl, DA says

A 3-year-old Freeport girl suffering from third-degree burns exposed what prosecutors say was a months-long pattern of abuse and starvation inside her own home at the hands of her parents, Nassau’s top prosecutor said.

Hanchelove Decius, 27, and Evenson Francois, 28, were indicted on first-degree assault charges in connection with the case, District Attorney Anne Donnelly announced Monday.

Prosecutors said the abuse started around October 2024 and continued for several months.

On June 8 last year, while in her mother Decius’ care, the child was allegedly scalded with a burning-hot liquid, leaving her with third-degree burns across her chest and lower body.

She was initially taken to Nassau University Medical Center and later transferred to Stony Brook University Hospital, where medical staff treating her burns discovered other alarming injuries, Donnelly said.

Doctors found scarring lesions, lacerations and bruises across the child’s body consistent with repeated, inflicted trauma, authorities said. She had scarring on her forehead, nose and face, along with an open laceration on her right eyebrow and another on her chin.

Donnelly said the girl’s injuries were in various stages of healing and had gone untreated. The child was also described as severely malnourished and visibly emaciated.

Francois was arrested Friday by the Nassau County Police Department’s Special Victims Squad. The same unit nabbed Decius on Sunday.

The couple pleaded not guilty in Nassau County Court before Judge Joy Watson and are being held without bail. They are due back in court April 24.

If convicted, each faces up to 25 years in prison.

Donnelly noted that the girl is now recovering.

“Thankfully, with proper care, the young girl is quickly recovering from the horrors she allegedly endured at the hands of her parents,” Donnelly said. “My prosecutors will ensure that they are held responsible for every scar.”

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