Delta man charged with child abuse

A Delta man was charged Thursday with felony child abuse by the Cape Girardeau County prosecutor's office.

William R. Riegert, 43, is suspected of burning a 2-year-old repeatedly with a cigarette, according to a probable-cause statement by Det. Jamie Malugen on the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department.

According to the statement, the child's mother called the sheriff's department Tuesday saying her child had cigarette burns to the right hand and ankles after visiting Riegert. The child told police his injuries came from being burned with a cigarette, but didn't identify who burned him. The child later named the person who burned him in an interview at the Southeast Missouri Network Against Sexual Violence.

Riegert was arrested and interviewed by Malugen. Malugen said in his probable-cause statement that Riegert admitted to touching the child with a lit cigarette on the ankles, but not on the hand.

No court dates had been scheduled for Riegert as of Thursday afternoon. Riegert was in the Cape Girardeau County Jail on a $25,000 cash-only bond.