A Hershey man is facing felony child abuse charges after his daughter was severely burned by boiling water.

According to a statement from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, deputies learned that, on July 24, a five-year-old girl had been severely burned at a residence in Hershey.

The sheriff’s office investigated and learned that the girl’s father, 32-year-old Travis Cooley, had been using boiling water in an attempt to remove coloring from her hair.

Cooley told deputies that the girl had dyed her hair with Kool Aid and he had searched the internet for ways to remove it. His search reportedly revealed that this could be accomplished using boiling water and baking soda.

As Cooley was going through the process, he said the boiling water spilled on the girls arm and back causing severe burns.

Chief Deputy Roland Kramer says the girl was transported to Great Plains Health and then to St. Elizabeth’s Burn Center in Lincoln. Officials say she suffered burns to 20 percent of her body.

Upon her release from St. Elizabeth’s, the girl was interviewed at the Bridge of Hope Child Advocacy Center, in North Platte.

On July 27, after further investigation, deputies determined that there was probable cause to arrest Cooley and charge him with child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury through negligence, a felony.

Cooley was jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center.