This was very unfortunate, and its seems because the child was disabled he could not notify his father of the sunburns if he could feel it. I would think that for a sunburn to become the bleeding kind would require some very excessive sunlight and would also be quite noticeable. That makes me worry about negligence and, like you mentioned tenaheff, maybe revenge becoming a factor. It is very possible that the father thought he could get back at the ex by harming the child she cared very much for. If this is the case, then he needs to be punished severely.
Well, I have found that even severe sunburns aren't noticeable in most cases until after you get out of the sun. The blisters appear later, not while you are actually in the sun. This is why many people end up severely burned each year. Not because they are trying to get burned, but because they don't realize it is happening.
Something that most people do not realize either is just because it is a cloudy day does not mean you cannot be sun burned. Some think that it takes only direct sunlight and thus people get burned. Children should always have a hat on and sunblock with UV protection according to their skin type - in other words not just any old sun block.
SEPARATING SUNSCREEN FACT FROM FICTION
Next time you're scanning the aisles for your summer sun protection, consider that producers of five well-known sunscreen brands are facing a class action lawsuit alleging that their claims mislead consumers about their products' ability to ward off UV rays and prevent skin damage and cancer.
Ref. https://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/05/25/healt...reen/index.html