MODESTO, Calif. — A California woman and her boyfriend face 27 felony and misdemeanor charges after authorities say they tortured an 11-year-old girl by strangling her, dragging her with a dog leash and forcing her to sleep in an unheated garage.
Priscilla Mestaz, 37, and Anthony Machuca, 36, were charged with torture, conspiracy to commit torture, child endangerment and assault with a deadly weapon after the victim disclosed extensive physical abuse spanning more than a year. The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office filed the criminal complaint Monday following an investigation that began January 31 when someone reported the child was refusing to go home because of abuse by her aunt.
The case began when the 11-year-old girl told someone she didn’t want to return home because “her aunt had been physically abusing her,” according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office. When investigators interviewed the child, “she disclosed physical abuse spanning an extended period of time.” Deputies executed a search warrant at the Modesto-area home and found surveillance footage that corroborated the victim’s statements. Sheriff’s Detective Maria Santos said the evidence showed “a pattern of systematic abuse that no child should ever endure.”
Investigators discovered the child had been living primarily in the garage and backyard of the residence, according to court documents. “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 stated. Authorities found evidence the girl was repeatedly strangled, punched and slapped, forced to perform strenuous physical exercise to exhaustion under threat of assault, and subjected to sustained verbal abuse and threats of injury. The child became malnourished after being denied adequate nutrition, prosecutors alleged.
Mestaz and Machuca told detectives they had custody of the girl since 2024, though court records don’t specify the circumstances of that arrangement. Deputies arrested Machuca immediately when they made initial contact with the couple at their home in late January. Mestaz’s arrest was delayed because she was pregnant and near term, sheriff’s officials said. She was taken into custody March 12 after giving birth. Stanislaus County Child Protective Services took the newborn and a 4-year-old child living in the home into protective custody. The sheriff’s office has not disclosed the current status or whereabouts of the 11-year-old victim.
The abuse case reflects a troubling pattern of child endangerment cases across California. Earlier this month, similar charges were filed against caregivers in other counties involving systematic abuse of children in their care. Child welfare advocates say such cases highlight gaps in the state’s protective services system. California reported more than 400,000 child abuse reports in 2025, with physical abuse accounting for approximately 18 percent of substantiated cases, according to state data. Dr. Jennifer Walsh, director of the California Child Protection Institute, said extended abuse cases often involve isolation of victims from outside contact.
Both defendants are being held at the Stanislaus County Jail on $1 million bail each. Their arraignment is scheduled for March 25 in Stanislaus County Superior Court. Prosecutors said additional charges are possible as investigators continue reviewing evidence collected during the search warrant. The most serious charges, torture and conspiracy to commit torture, carry potential sentences of life imprisonment if convicted. District Attorney Jeff Laugero said his office will “pursue the maximum penalties allowed by law for these heinous acts against a vulnerable child.”
Neighbors in the quiet residential area expressed shock at the allegations, saying they rarely saw the children outside the home. Maria Rodriguez, who lives across the street, told reporters she occasionally heard yelling but didn’t realize the severity of the situation. “If I had known what was happening to that little girl, I would have called police immediately,” Rodriguez said. The home sits on a dead-end street with large lots that provide privacy between residences, potentially obscuring signs of abuse from casual observation.
The investigation remains active as detectives work with child protective services and prosecutors to ensure the safety of all children involved. Investigators are asking anyone with information about the case to contact the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office. Both defendants remain in custody pending their court appearance next week.
