A California woman and her boyfriend have been charged with 27 counts of torture and child abuse related to their treatment of the woman’s 11-year-old niece that included strangulation, dragging her around on a dog leash, and forcing her to sleep in an uninsulated garage.
The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office said it was contacted by someone who said the little girl was refusing to go home because “her aunt had been physically abusing her.”
When the girl was interviewed, she “disclosed physical abuse spanning an extended period of time.” A search warrant on the home found surveillance footage that corroborated statements made by the victim. They also “found evidence indicating that the child had been living primarily in the garage and the backyard.”
“The garage was not a converted living space, lacking heating and air conditioning, and insulation, leaving the child exposed to unsafe temperatures year-round,” the sheriff’s office said.
The aunt, 37-year-old Priscilla Mestaz, and 36-year-old Anthony Machuca told detectives they had custody of the girl since 2024.
The investigation was launced on January 31, and arrested Machuca when they made initial contact with the couple at the home. Mestaz’s arrest was delayed because she was pregnant and near term. She was arrested on March 12 after the birth of the child.
The newborn and a 4-year-old child were taken into protective custody by Stanislaus County Child Protective Services.The sheriff’s office did not reveal the status of the 11-year-old girl.
The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office filed a criminal complaint against the pair on Monday, charging them with 27 felony and misdemeanor counts. The most serious charges include torture, conspiracy to commit torture, child endangerment, injury to a child, assault with a deadly weapon, and criminal threats.
“Among the acts referenced are repeated physical abuse including strangulation, punching, and slapping; forcing the child to sleep in an uninsulated, unfinished garage without bedding or heat during winter months; withholding adequate nutrition causing the child to become malnourished; forcing the child to perform strenuous physical exercise to the point of exhaustion under threat of assault; restraining and dragging the child with a dog leash; and subjecting the child to sustained verbal abuse and threats of injury,” the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators say more charges are possible as they sift through evidence.
Mestaz and Machuca are being held on $1 million bonds.
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[Featured image: Priscilla Mestaz and Anthony Machuca/Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office]
