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Left to right: Priscilla Mestaz, Anthony Machuca (Stanislaus County Sheriff”s Office).
A woman from California and her partner are facing serious accusations of mistreating the woman’s 11-year-old niece by dragging her with a dog leash, strangling her, and making her sleep in a garage without proper bedding.
Priscilla Mestaz, 37, along with Anthony Machuca, 36, have been charged with 27 counts each, as revealed by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office. The charges include severe offenses such as torture, conspiracy to commit torture, child endangerment likely to result in severe injury or death, infliction of injury on a child, assault with a deadly weapon, and making criminal threats.
The young girl had been living with her aunt Mestaz and Mestaz’s partner, Machuca, since the summer of 2024, according to officials. The alleged mistreatment is said to have started in January 2025, continuing for a period of at least one year, deputies reported.
Authorities claim the couple subjected the girl to strangulation, punching, and slapping. They allegedly forced her to sleep in a cold, unfinished garage without heat or proper bedding during the winter months. Additionally, they are accused of failing to provide the child with sufficient nutrition, leading to her malnourishment.
The child was also reportedly made to “perform strenuous physical exercise to the point of exhaustion under threat of assault,” dragged with a dog leash, and subjected to verbal abuse and threats of harm, as stated by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities became aware of the case on Jan. 31, when deputies were told that a girl — later identified as the alleged victim — “was refusing to return home” because “her aunt had been physically abusing her.” Officers, including detectives with the sheriff’s office’s special victims unit, responded to the home and spoke with the aunt.
Mestaz was in an “advanced stage of pregnancy,” and a 4-year-old child was also at the home. Officers continued to investigate, and ultimately identified Mestaz and Machuca as suspects.
Investigators carried out a search warrant on the home and found surveillance cameras both inside and outside the home. The cameras reportedly showed footage that backed up the 11-year-old’s statements and showed that she had been “living primarily” in the garage and backyard.
“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 said.
Machuca was arrested at the home, but Mestaz was not taken into custody given her pregnancy, the sheriff’s office said. After giving birth about six weeks later, Mestaz was arrested on March 12. During their investigation, detectives also learned that Mestaz “served as a child and family services case manager with a local organization.”
Both the baby and the 4-year-old were “taken into protective custody by Stanislaus County Child Protective Services.” The sheriff’s office did not say what happened to the 11-year-old girl.
At the time of the sheriff’s office’s announcement on Monday, Mestaz and Machuca were each being held on $1 million bail. The agency suggested more charges could be forthcoming.
Stanislaus County is located east of the San Francisco Bay area.