A criminal case in which a six-year-old child was abused by her mother came to a conclusion December 20 with a Deming woman being sentenced to 21 years in prison. According to District Attorney Michael R. Renteria, Rosa Gonzalez, 34, was sentenced for abusing her biological child starting when the child was three years old.
According to Court documents, the abuse was discovered when a Bell School employee alerted authorities after seeing the child at Wal-Mart and noticing she was not wearing shoes and had a serious cut on her wrist. When Deming Police Department officers went to Gonzalez' home to conduct a welfare check on the child in August 2022, they found the child with injuries to both wrists and bruises on her face. Makeup had been applied to the child's face in an apparent attempt to conceal the bruises. Gonzalez was charged with first- and third-degree felony counts of child abuse, and all of the children in her home were placed in custody of the Children, Youth and Families Department.
In presenting her sentencing argument to the Court, Deputy District Attorney Anne Swank described Gonzalez' conduct as torture. "Gonzalez admitted beating her daughter on a regular basis on her face, head and throughout her body, and to tying her wrists and ankles with an electrical cord and leaving her alone and tied up for long periods of time," Swank said.
A medical examination of the child showed injuries consistent with being tied up for prolonged periods of time and revealed extensive injuries on her face, scalp, neck, mouth, legs and inside and outside her ears. Swank told the court the child has suffered permanent nerve damage, permanent impairment of sight in one eye, and scarring of her lips from being bitten. The child told investigators that the tip of her tongue was missing because her mother bit it off. Swank argued that the full extent of the child's injuries may never be known, including the emotional trauma she suffered.
Gonzalez pled guilty to one first-degree felony and one third-degree felony. The first-degree felony carries a sentence of 18 years and the maximum sentence for a third-degree felony is three years. District Court Judge Jennifer DeLaney adopted the State's recommendation that the sentences run consecutively for a total of 21 years and found that the first-degree felony is a "serious violent offense," requiring Gonzalez to serve at least 85% of the 18-year portion of her sentence.
District Attorney Renteria commended Ms. Swank and the prosecution team. "My administration, from the beginning, has placed a strong emphasis on the protection of children and the prosecution of those who abuse them. I want to thank not only the Deming Police Department, but also Laura Barnes at CYFD and Shannon Honey at Silver Regional Sexual Assault Services for their work on the case. I am thankful that the abuse of this child was detected and that a strong case was built against the parent, who we were able to aggressively prosecute."