Illegal immigrant sentenced to 10 years for injury to a child
7 hrs ago
Deborah McKeon
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.town...ze=1662%2C1246
Mario Alberto Rodriguez
BUCKHOLTS — An illegal immigrant who lives in Buckholts was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to injury to a child, Milam County District Attorney Bill Torrey said.
Mario Alberto Rodriguez, 28, was primarily investigated by Buckholts Police Chief Shawn Newsom for a July 2018 incident that was a first-degree felony.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a hold on Rodriguez.
Once Rodriguez serves his time in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, ICE will begin hearings to deport him, Torrey said.
In a separate civil case, Rodriguez surrendered his parental rights.
A probable cause affidavit that would shed light on what led to Rodriguez’s conviction wasn’t available by press time, but Newsom had background on the case.
Rodriguez was the stepfather of a 2-year-old boy who was in the emergency room with about six broken ribs and a raised contusion about the size of a softball on his forehead. Three of the broken ribs were recent (within one month), and others were up to three months old, Newsom was told by medical staff. The child also had other injuries, like multiple contusions on his head, that were within the previous 24 hours.
The parents claimed the boy fell off his bed, Newsom said.
Rodriguez was not the biological father, and he had a very short fuse with the child, Newsom said. Rodriguez was intoxicated at the time. The boy was crying and Rodriguez threw him on the bed and the boy’s head struck the bed frame. Some of the rib fractures occurred when Rodriguez picked him up and squeezed him, Newsom said.
After he waived his rights, Rodriguez admitted to Newsom what he’d done.
Child Protective Services was notified, and it was discovered previous CPS reports were made by family members for other reasons. However, it was the department’s first contact with the family, Newsom said.
The maternal rights of Gabriella Contreras, the child’s mother, were also terminated. Contreras was sentenced to three years deferred adjudication probation, 99 days in jail and a $2,500 fine for endangering a child.
The child was initially removed from the home and was temporarily placed with relatives by CPS, but his location Monday wasn’t known.
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