A mother accused of severely burning her two children with a clothes iron appeared in District Court this morning, charged with two counts of second-degree assault.

Ionerina Baelo, 29, was notified of the charges against her through a court-appointed Chuukese interpreter.

Details of the charges against her are scheduled to be aired in preliminary hearing tomorrow afternoon in Family Court, although that proceeding will be canceled if Baelo is indicted by a grand jury first.

According to a police affidavit filed in court, Baelo's 6-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son had second-degree burns consistent with injuries from a clothes iron.

Alerted by a counselor at the Kalihi office of Parents and Children Together, police arrested Baelo Thursday at the PACT office.

The boy had severe burns on his back and left arm and allegedly told police his mother bad used a clothes iron on him, the affidavit said.

His older sister allegedly had injuries consistent with burns on her two of her fingers and on her left calf, according to police.