Priscilla Mestaz and Anthony Machuca face multiple charges, including torture, for allegedly abusing Mestaz's 11-year-old niece in Stanislaus County. The pair forced the girl to sleep in an uninsulated garage and dragged her with a dog leash. Authorities discovered the abuse after the child refused to return home.
Priscilla Mestaz, 37, and Anthony Machuca, 36, each face 27 charges from the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office. The most serious include torture, conspiracy to commit torture, child endangerment likely to cause great bodily injury or death, inflicting injury on a child, assault with a deadly weapon, and criminal threats. The 11-year-old niece had been living with her aunt Mestaz and Machuca since summer 2024, with alleged abuse starting in January 2025 and continuing for at least a year. Deputies report the couple strangled, punched, and slapped the girl, denied her adequate nutrition leading to malnourishment, and forced her to perform strenuous exercises to exhaustion under threat of assault. They also dragged her with a dog leash and verbally abused her. The child slept in an uninsulated, unfinished garage without bedding or heat, especially during winter, and spent time in the backyard, exposed to unsafe temperatures year-round. Surveillance footage from the home confirmed she lived primarily in those areas. On January 31, deputies learned the girl refused to return home, citing physical abuse by her aunt. Officers found Mestaz pregnant and a 4-year-old child at the home. Machuca was arrested there, while Mestaz was taken into custody on March 12 after giving birth six weeks later. Detectives noted Mestaz worked as a child and family services case manager locally. The newborn and 4-year-old were placed in protective custody by Stanislaus County Child Protective Services. Both suspects are held on $1 million bail, with possible additional charges. Stanislaus County lies east of the San Francisco Bay area.