A 19-year-old Mesa father was arrested after he allegedly turned on the clothes dryer his year-old son was playing in, police said Thursday.

Mesa Police responded to a home in the 10900 block of East Flossmoor Avenue about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday after family members reported that Jose L. Rocha closed the dryer door and turned it on, causing the toddler to tumble in the machine. The toddler received a large bruise on his back, according to police reports.

Rocha and his girlfriend, the child's mother, fled before police arrived but later returned.

The incident allegedly began when the child was sitting in the dryer and Rocha and the child's mother wanted to take a picture.

The mother told police she heard the dryer turn on and the child scream as she was grabbing the camera. Another family member told police she had witnessed Rocha remove the child from the dryer after hearing the dryer turn on and the child scream.

Police said Rocha denied shutting the dryer door. Instead, he told police he spun the dryer with his hands, causing the child to land on his back and bruise.

The child was treated at the scene and remains in the custody of his mother, said Steve Berry, Media Relations Detective for the Mesa Police Department.

Rocha was arrested on two outstanding warrants and booked into jail on suspicion of child abuse.