Victor Acosta Halts His Scalding Trial To Plead Guilty

[Dakota Valkyrie]

A baby sitter accused of severely burning an autistic child to “teach her a lesson” after she soiled herself abruptly ended his jury trial Wednesday, choosing instead to plead guilty.

As a result of the plea agreement, prosecutors will ask for no more than 50 years in prison when Victor Acosta II is sentenced next month before state District Judge Mary Roman. If Acosta had been found guilty by a jury on a charge of injury to a child-serious bodily injury, he could have faced up to life in prison.

Acosta, 31, was arrested in July 2009 after Brenda Solis, then 8, was admitted to Christus Santa Rosa Children's Hospital with 2nd- and 3rd-degree burns on her legs and buttocks.

During the three days of testimony, jurors were shown graphic photos of the girl's bright-red skin, peeled in large swaths off her body. She is still undergoing skin-graft surgeries and physical therapy for the long-term injuries, prosecutors said.

Acosta, an ex-boyfriend of the girl's mother, had been baby-sitting Solis and her siblings while the mother went to a movie, according to court documents. Acosta acknowledged to police that he put the girl in the shower, but he said the water wasn't scalding when he left to attend to another child.

The child must have turned the water up herself, he told police. Defense attorney Michael Sawyer indicated to jurors during an opening statement last week that his client didn't directly cause the injuries.

But the girl's 8-year-old brother told jurors that he heard Solis screaming and that Acosta never left the bathroom. Pediatrician James Lukefahr, who was called by prosecutors, testified that the burns were consistent with someone being restrained in a shower.

A test of the shower showed water reaching up to 157 degrees. Human instinct, even among those with severe autism, would be to step away from the water, Lukefahr said.
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http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/loc...106650053.html

[Whisper]

Arrested for burning autistic child, babysitter gets 50 years

SAN ANTONIO -- A babysitter accused of severely burning an autistic child will spend decades behind bars. Victor Acosta was sentenced to 50 years in prison Monday afternoon at the Bexar County Justice Center, which is the maximum punishment for such a crime.
Before a Bexar County Judge and his family, Victor Acosta learned his fate.

"Mr. Acosta, first of all I am going to find you guilty as charged.... punishment is 50 years confinement," said Bexar County Judge Mary Roman.

Acosta was convicted of a first degree felony charge for severely burning his ex-girlfriend's autistic daughter, then 8, with hot water last July.

According to court records, Acosta was babysitting the child while her mother was out. The prosecution argued Acosta wanted to teach the young girl a lesson after she soiled herself. The child is now left with long-term injuries.

"He went to the extreme of not only burning her, but possibly killing her," said Prosecutor Chris Demartino.
Acosta plead guilty last month for a lesser sentence, since he faced life in prison. During the penalty phase, Vivian Acosta pleaded with the court to have mercy on her only son who has a criminal history.

"I begged the mercy of this court to see that he made an error," Vivian Acosta said.
Before he went away to start serving his sentence, the victim's mother had one final thought.

“Those who loved you never did give up on you. You gave up on yourself and my daughter had to pay for that," Julia Juarez said.
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http://www.kens5.com/home/Arrested-f...111393609.html