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Dad gets 10 years in prison
Longmont man fractured his toddler's skull

By Christine Reid, Camera Staff Writer
June 17, 2006

A Longmont man who fractured his 16-month-old daughter's skull — while in a jealous rage over the toddler giving her mother more attention than him — was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison.

Jose Antonio Mosqueda-Ramirez, 20, tearfully apologized to the court for his actions last summer while he was under the influence of methamphetamines.

"I know it's going to be hard for me to ever forgive myself, and I hope one day my daughter can forgive me," Mosqueda-Ramirez said.

Police arrested Mosqueda-Ramirez after he threw the toddler, A'Marie, about six feet onto a bed, causing her head to strike a metal bedpost and rendering her unconscious.

A'Marie's mother, Mary Helen Trujillo, 19, told police she returned from work July 6 to find her daughter bruised, vomiting blood and acting lethargic. Mosqueda-Ramirez initially said the toddler crawled onto a nightstand and fell off, and he would not allow her to be taken to the hospital for four days.

He later confessed to police that he treated his daughter like a "rag doll" when he watched her over a three-week period while her mother was at work. Mosqueda-Ramirez admitted to slapping the girl in the face and picking her up by her calves and swinging her face-down until she cried because she would pay him no attention when her mother was around.

He ultimately pleaded guilty in Boulder County District Court to felony child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury.

"I think we're very lucky this is not a homicide trial," Longmont Detective Devi Suess told the judge.

She held up a picture of A'Marie taken shortly before the attack that showed the little girl wearing only a diaper and a pair of pretend butterfly wings.

"My hope for her is ... the head injury will not limit her opportunities," an emotional Suess said.

Prosecutor Colette Cribari said although A'Marie appears to be doing well, the long-term effects of her injury won't be revealed until she starts school. She asked the judge not to show leniency toward Mosqueda-Ramirez because he was using drugs.

"In my opinion, the drug use makes it worse," Cribari said. "He was taking care of a baby."

Public defender Debra Thomas told the judge that Mosqueda-Ramirez has always taken responsibility for his "unbelievable behavior" and told her he deserves whatever punishment the court sees fit.

"We're not standing in front of the court and saying excuse his behavior because he's a meth addict. We just want the court to be aware," Thomas said.

She pointed out that Mosqueda-Ramirez has voluntarily relinquished his parental rights to A'Marie, and his only prior criminal behavior involved misdemeanor drug use. Thomas also said he would be deported to Mexico upon the completion of his prison sentence because he has been in the country illegally since the age of 5.

"My prayer is he will get a second chance," Jose Mosqueda, Mosqueda-Ramirez's father, told the court. "I know my son. If he was given a second chance, he would make a different life for himself."

Boulder County District Judge Lael Montgomery said he would get a second chance at rebuilding his life after prison.

"And if there is no meth, maybe there's a chance for him to build a healthy family," she said.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Christine Reid at (303) 473-1355 or reidc@dailycamera.com.