The Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department arrested a suspect on March 26 for felony child abuse, said Chief Deputy Shane Tucker.

Tucker said Jeremy S. Daughdrill, 28, of 87 McCarty Island Rd. was arrested for felony child abuse after the department investigated claims that he held a four-year-old female’s hand over a lit candle.

The mother told the sheriff’s department that she brought the child to Highland Community Hospital after her daughter asked her for medicine because her hand hurt. When the mother looked at the girl’s hand, she saw a burn on the palm of the hand, Tucker said.

He said when the mother asked the child what happened, the little girl told her mother that Daughdrill held her hand over a lit candle. Daughdrill is not the girl’s father, Tucker said.

Tucker said the incident was reported on March 5 at 6:49 p.m. by Highland Community Hospital staff. Both the sheriff’s department and the Department of Human Services responded to the call.

“Our Investigation was consistent with the mother and child’s statement,” Tucker said.

Daughdrill was charged with felony child abuse and released on a $20,000 cash bond on March 26.