A schizophrenic Bronx man who doused his sleeping 13-year-old niece with boiling cooking oil was charged — and then released — Friday.  “I was upset at my niece,” said Jonathan Salinas, according to court papers. “I boiled the oil and threw it at her.”"  The niece, Jada, 13, was burned on her face, back, chest and arms. She suffered second-degree burns from the Thursday attack inside the Bainbridge Ave. apartment where she, her uncle and other family members live, cops said.  Salinas, 28, was initially taken for a psychiatric examination but was ultimately charged with assault, possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child.  Salinas didn’t say what caused him to fly off the rails.  A police source said he has eight sealed arrests — in addition to three open arrests that include a 2003 incident in which he threatened his sister with a knife.  He was arraigned Friday and released, even though a prosecutor asked for $500,000 bail.  “We had requested — and felt — a higher bail was appropriate under the circumstances,” said Terry Raskyn, a spokeswoman for Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson.  Yet Criminal Court Judge Dakota Ramseur disagreed. As she set Salinas free, she issued an order of protection prohibiting him from going near the niece, who is still being treated at Jacobi Medical Center.  Repeated calls to Ramseur for comment were not returned Friday.  Neighbors were stunned by Ramseur’s decision.  “That’s crazy!” said one, who asked not to be named. The neighbor said Salinas was “a psycho” who often talked about killing himself.  “What's a crazy guy know about the law? He’s just going to come back here,” the neighbor said. “If it were a normal guy, he’d be in jail.”  Relatives told neighbors that Salinas scalded his niece by accident.  “They said he slipped while making French fries and spilled (the oil) on her,” the neighbor said.  Neither Salinas nor his relatives have been home since Thursday, neighbors said.
The Bronx man who burned his sleeping teen niece by dousing her with boiling cooking oil has been charged and released.