A black man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for ironing his shirt on the back of a toddler he was supposed to be looking after

African-American Elliott Moore, 43, pleaded guilty to aggravated battery to a child after leaving an 18-month-old girl with horrific burns. The charges date to February 2010, when Moore was looking after the girl at her home in Rockford, Illinois. He was the live-in carer for the toddler and her siblings while their mother was at work. Moore later told police that he was trying to iron a shirt but found it difficult because the young girl was asleep on his lap. He therefore decided to use her back as an ironing board, but stopped when she awoke and started crying. Since she appeared to be burned, he splashed water onto her back and put her back to sleep. When the girl's mother returned home, she found Moore behaving strangely and saying he had to leave for work. That night, the girl was continually crying and when her mother changed her clothes she discovered a large, open burn on her back. The toddler was taken to hospital, and later Moore was arrested and charged with harming her. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to more than a decade in prison. His sentence was extended due to the young age of his victim.