A U.S. woman said the devil, not her husband, should be responsible for severely burning their 2-month-old infant daughter in a microwave, local media reported Monday.

Eva Marie Mauldin, 20, said Satan compelled her 19-year-old husband, Joshua Royce Mauldin, to microwave their daughter May 10 because "the devil was displeased by Joshua's efforts to become a preacher."

"Satan saw my husband as a threat. Satan attacked him because he saw (Joshua) as a threat," Eva Mauldin told Houston television station KHOU-TV.

Joshua Mauldin remains in the Galveston County Jail on a charge of injury to a child causing serious bodily harm. Evidence shows that he placed the baby in a motel microwave for 10 to 20 seconds.

The infant, Ana Marie, remains hospitalized. She suffered burns on the left side of her face and to her left hand, police said.

Eva Mauldin insisted that her husband is "not the monster people are making him out to be."

"He would never do anything to hurt her. He loves her," she said.

The charge against Joshua Mauldin may lead to a prison term of five to 99 years, as well as a fine of up to 10,000 U.S. dollars.

Editor: Yan