A Sacramento jury on Friday convicted 23-year-old Miqueas Alexander Romero-Soto of child abuse and torture in the October 2022 beating of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter, a case prosecutors say left the toddler fighting for her life. Jurors found Romero-Soto guilty of two counts of child abuse causing great bodily injury and one count of torture, and the court set sentencing for April 3, 2026, in Sacramento. The verdict followed what prosecutors described as powerful evidence, including home-surveillance footage and medical testimony detailing the child’s severe trauma.
According to The Sacramento Bee, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office told jurors that Romero-Soto “inflicted repeated punching, throwing the child onto cement, whipping by the waist, holding by the hair and attempting to drown her” inside the victim’s home. Prosecutors said the jury also found true special allegations that the victim was particularly vulnerable, that the crime involved great violence, and that Romero-Soto abused a position of trust. The DA’s office says he faces a potential term of seven years to life in state prison.
Hospital care and surveillance
Local reporting noted that the toddler was brought to a Sacramento-area hospital on Oct. 9, 2022, then transferred to UC Davis Medical Center for emergency surgery as doctors worked to stabilize her injuries. Detectives later reviewed home-surveillance video that partially showed Romero-Soto in the child’s bedroom, and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office Child Abuse Bureau led the investigation, KCRA reported.
Surgeons’ findings and co-defendant’s plea
Surgeons who treated the child found a fractured posterior rib, lacerations to the liver and spleen, and significant internal bleeding, The Sacramento Bee wrote, citing the DA’s office. The child’s mother, Rosa Estrada, pleaded guilty last year to related child-abuse charges and was sentenced to six years in state prison, prosecutors said.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 3 at the Gordon D. Schaber Sacramento County Courthouse, where the judge is expected to hear recommendations from both prosecutors and the defense before deciding an exact term. The hearing will also give victims or family members an opportunity to address the court under California’s victim-impact procedures…