SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man was sentenced to 40 years in prison in connection with a child abuse case that left a 4-year-old girl with several broken bones, including her tailbone and a fractured jaw.
Ray Garcia Jr. was convicted on nine counts of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury and injury to a child causing bodily injury.
According to investigators, San Antonio police found the injured child in April 2014 in a home on the city's Northeast Side. They said that in addition to her broken bones, she was malnourished and suffered from diabetes.
Garcia, who was dating the girl's mother, claimed that he was babysitting the girl and her other siblings while the child's mother was working.
Police said the girl told them and hospital staff that Garcia hit her with his hand and a belt and also stomped on her back. The child also said Garcia refused to feed her.
The girl's mother, Brandy Partida, admitted to police that weeks before the girl's injuries were discovered, she noticed that her daughter had bruising all over her body. Partida claimed that Garcia physically assaulted her when she confronted him about the abuse.
She said she did not report the abuse because she was afraid of Garcia.
Police were called to the home after they received a tip from one of the couple's acquaintances.
Partida was also charged with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury by omission for failing to report the abuse and is awaiting sentencing.
