Visalia foster parent sentenced to 11 years in prison for child abuse
The child now living as normal of a life as possible, going to school and spending time with his siblings.
VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Visalia woman learned her fate on Thursday after abusing her foster child in 2018.
The victim was just 14 months old when he suffered broken bones, bruising, and a brain bleed.
Now, his family is opening up for the first time about the heartbreaking case.
"It's been really tough just waiting for justice for David has been a really hard thing, especially for our kids," said Jennifer Mesta, the mother of David, who was abused by his foster mother, Darlene Valdovinos, more than five years ago.
The family is finally seeing some justice.
The 34-year-old defendant was sentenced Thursday to eleven years behind bars.
Jennifer says her seven children were taken from her in 2018 after she and her husband became homeless.
They were all placed in the care of Valdovinos.
"They went through a lot of physical abuse, mental, emotional," explained Jennifer.
Valdovinos pleaded no contest to physically abusing David, who was 14 months old at the time.
She told police that she dropped him numerous times after originally trying to blame one of David's siblings.
She also admitted to holding David away from her chest and shaking him back and forth.
This picture shows the baby boy unresponsive and in a coma during his two-week hospital stay after the abuse.
"He is going to need help for the rest of his life. This brain injury is permanent. He has recovered quite well from having that injury. But he can't eat right, he can't retain information, he's had to have physical therapy, all kinds of stuff, it's been a lot," expressed Jennifer.
Deputy District Attorney Kelly Habroun prosecuted the case.
She's been working with the Crimes Against Children team for four years and says this is one of the worst cases she has seen.
"I would say in this case, we had a special allegation of great bodily injury, and there are only certain circumstances that we can fill that in," explained Kelly.
David is now living as normal of a life as possible, going to school and spending time with his siblings.
But his parents say their family's journey to recover is a long one.
David's family members say they will continue to fight for justice.
That includes filing a lawsuit against Tulare County Child Protective Services.
We did reach out to the county but were told they could not comment.
For news updates, follow Kassandra Gutierrez on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
