Aug 17, 2007 12:51 am US/Pacific
Santa Clara Couple Jailed For Child Torture, Abuse
SANTA CLARA (CBS 5 / KCBS / BCN) ―
A Santa Clara County couple is in police custody on a combined $3.5 million bail for allegedly torturing and abusing a 22-month-old boy, authorities said Thursday evening.
Julia Acosta, the mother of the child, and Baltazar Martinez, Acosta's boyfriend, were arrested after a joint investigation by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office and the Fremont Police Department.
The investigation was sparked when the child was taken to the hospital with "extensive bruises and burns," according to Sheriff's Sgt. Dalia Rodriguez.
"The child was originally taken to Valley Medical Center by family members, where it was discovered that this child had been severely tortured and abused," said Rodriguez.
"There were a lot of bruises in different stages of healing and also some burns on the child's body in different stages of healing," he said. "Some of the photos that I was able to look at with the investigation, they're horrible photos and it pains me that someone would do something like that to a child."
Acosta, 20, of San Jose, and Martinez, 26, of Milpitas, have each been charged with one count of torture with great bodily injury and one count of child abuse and endangerment with great bodily injury. Bail for Acosta was set at $1 million, while bail for Martinez was set at $2.5 million -- because he faces an additional charge of domestic violence.
Both Martinez and Acosta will be arraigned Friday in Santa Clara County Superior Court. The child is currently in protective custody.
Anyone with information regarding the allegations were asked by authorities to call the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office at (408) 808-4500 or the Fremont Police Department at (510) 790-6949.
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