After severely assaulting her 2-year-old stepson, an Orange County woman was sentenced to prison, leaving him crippled and suffering from severe brain damage.
Orange County District Attorney’s Office: Noelia Ayala, 24, of Garden Grove, was found guilty of hitting the toddler until she went into a coma.
According to the authorities, Ayala beat the boy because she was angry because the boy’s father had talked about the boy’s mother and had been gone for extended periods of time.
Paramedics were called to Ayala’s residence on August 23, 2019, after hearing that the youngster had been throwing up blood and having episodes of unconsciousness.
After the youngster was taken to the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, medical professionals found that he had a cut to the back of his head, significant bruising on his face, arms, legs, back, and genitalia, and bite marks on his lips.
Court records stated that the man had to be sent to an emergency surgery where a portion of his skull had to be removed because the bleeding on his brain was so bad that blood was streaming out of his ears.
After his son fell at the pool, Alberto Aragon, 36, the boy’s father, informed hospital personnel that his son had injuries.
But the child’s injuries were in “various stages of healing and had occurred over a period of time,” according to the doctors.
Aragon and Ayala were both taken into custody on the spot.
The youngster, who is currently 7 years old, had serious brain damage and was left with permanent paralysis on his left side, according to the DA’s office.
Ayala, the boy’s stepmother, was found guilty by a jury in July 2024 of two felonies: one count of attempted torture and the other of assaulting a kid under the age of eight, resulting in a vegetative state or paralysis, and two counts of causing grievous bodily harm to a child under the age of five.
She was given a sentence of 12 years to life in prison with a further seven years on August 16, 2024.
Aragon, the boy’s father, was accused of one count of felony child abuse and endangerment due to his failure to get his injured son medical attention promptly. He might spend up to six years in prison if all charges are found to be true.
“The image of the two-year-old’s Spider-Man sheet soaked in blood as a result of a stepmother’s beating is something that will never leave you,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “This little boy was a happy, healthy two-year-old until he was left alone in the arms of a sadistic stepmother who used him as a punching bag to take out her anger over the issues in her relationship. The miracle workers at CHOC have rescued another defenseless child from the brink of death after being subjected to unspeakable violence by the very people who are supposed to protect these children. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office will never stop fighting to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”