Updated 06/19/2009 09:13 AM
Queens Family Allegedly Burned Child In Voodoo Ritual
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A six-year-old Queens girl was badly burned during what Queens District Attorney Richard Brown called a "Haitian voodoo ritual," and her mother and grandmother are facing charges.
Prosecutors say Marie Lauradin poured an accelerant on her daughter's head and placed her naked in a circle of fire at their Queens Village home in February. Officials say the girl became engulfed in flames and suffered life-threatening burns over 25 percent of her body.
The fire is part of a Haitian practice known as Loa.
Lauradin and Sylvenie Thessier, the child's grandmother, allegedly failed to give her medical help and instead washed her down with cold water and sent her to bed.
Lauradin was charged with assault and could face 25 years in prison. She was ordered to be held on $50,000 bail at her arraignment yesterday.
Thessier faces up to seven years behind bars. She will be arraigned at a later date.
The girl has been put into foster care.