Derrick Defoe, 33, pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of aggravated child abuse in the June 13, 2015 bath tub scalding of two of his then-girlfriend's small children, ages 2 and 5

An Alabama man accused of intentionally scalding two children in a bathtub accepted a plea deal Monday and has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Derrick Defoe, 33, of Limestone County, Alabama, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated child abuse just before opening statements in his trial were set to begin.

Other charges against him were dropped as part of his plea agreement.

Authorities say Defoe helped his girlfriend, Amanda Reyer, then 25, dip her two-year-old daughter, Adriauna, and five-year-old son, Cameron, into a bathtub filled with scalding hot water in their trailer park home on June 13, 2015.

The gruesome act was meant to punish the children for allegedly breaking a bed.

Investigators who visited the home said the hot water boiler was set to 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit.

Amanda Reyer, 25, was sentenced to 40 years in prison in November after pleading guilty to two counts of aggravated child abuse for the scalding bath incident administered by her and her boyfriend

Authorities say Reyer and Defoe burned the two young children with scalding water in the bathtub of their trailer park home in Athens, Alabama (pictured)

Courtesy of WAFF

Defoe previously told police Adriauna leapt out of the water in pain during the incident, but the child's mother put her back in the tub, WAFF reported.

When Defoe dipped Cameron in the water, he immediately jumped out crying and ran to hide.

Reyer told the court she didn't realize the water was as hot as it was, saying her two-year-old fell back in as she scrambled to get out.

Adriauna reportedly received second and third degree burns to at least 70 percent of her body.

Authorities say Reyer (left), and her then-boyfriend, Defoe (right) dipped her children in scalding hot bath water to punish them for breaking a bed. The water's temperature was 150 degrees and both children required skin graft surgeries to help their injuries heal

She suffered respiratory failure and went into cardiac arrest while being treated at a hospital after being driven there by her mom, who was trying to avoid calling 911, WAFF reported.

'From the neck down, her skin looked like a patchwork quilt,' an officer testified during Reyer's trial.

Reyer previously told a judge she was 'trying to appease' Defoe when they devised the scalding bath as an alternate punishment for her children.

She said she got the idea from a TV show in which a child counselor had recommended giving children a cold shower or bath as a form of punishment.

But Reyer decided to try the technique using hot water instead, telling a judge she feared her allegedly abusive boyfriend would do something worse to the kids.

Authorities who responded to the scene in 2015 also found Cameron trembling on the couch.

One of his teeth was chipped and both children's heads had been shaved as punishment after Cameron allegedly cut part of his sister's hair with scissors in a previous incident, Reyer told the court during her trial.

Adriauna and Cameron survived the scalding ordeal after receiving multiple skin graft surgeries. Investigators who responded to the scene in 2015 found pieces of skin around the trailer that had peeled off the children.

The facts of the case brought Circuit Judge Robert Baker to tears during Reyer's sentencing back in November.

'I'm a hard fellow to shock. But you did it,' he told the abusive mom. 'This is not a situation where you didn't know what a medication would do… Hot water is hot. It hurts. It burns.'