by SHELDON COMPTON
Staff Writer

PRESTONSBURG — The father of a 22-month-old toddler investigators say was badly burned after being placed into hot bath water last week appeared in Floyd Circuit Court Friday afternoon to ask that his bond be lowered so he could travel to Ohio to visit his child at Cincinnati’s Shriner’s Hospital.
Travis Banks, who was incarcerated at the time of the incident on burglary charges, appeared with public advocate Mike Studebaker to ask that his bond be lowered to attend a possible surgery the child might undergo, according to Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Wayne Taylor.
“His attorney talked to the folks at the Shriner’s Hospital and said the burns could be severe enough to require skin grafts and that it might be necessary to schedule a surgery,” Taylor said after the hearing Friday.
Taylor did not object to Circuit Judge John David Caudill’s order granting Banks a $20,000 unsecured bond, something the judge says he doesn’t usually order.
“Normally I wouldn’t do this,” Caudill said, “but I’m doing this because I think it’s an emergency.”
Caudill ordered that Banks’ bond be set at $20,000 unsecured, which would enable a family member or friend to post his bond and stand good for the money until Banks returns to custody.
A stipulation put on the order was that Banks was to return to court March 22 so the conditions of his bond could be converted to a $10,000 cash or property bond.
News of Banks’ child being burned first came to the attention of authorities on March 8 when police received a call that a 22-month-old had been “badly burned” and had been taken to Highlands Regional Medical Center and later to the Shriner’s burn unit in Cincinnati.
Kentucky State Police Detective Byron Hansford, who is investigating the incident, has not reported any arrests made in the case and officials are continuing to examine information.