New Jersey Mom Gets 5 Years in Prison for Assaulting Daughter Who Suffered Serious Brain Injuries

A young girl who was beaten so badly that she suffered serious brain injuries now requires round-the-clock care and will never be the same again; family members told a judge before the kid's mom was sentenced to prison.

Millville native Elinette S. Muniz pleaded guilty to an aggravated assault charge in the case and was sentenced on Friday, June 24, to five years in prison under a plea agreement reached with state prosecutors, according to NJ Advance Media.

Muniz and her 28-year-old boyfriend Ricardo A. Ferrera were charged last year after they brought the unconscious four-year-old child to a hospital in February 2021. Doctors who treated the girl found multiple injuries, including damage to the little kid's chest, bleeding on the brain, cuts to her nose and mouth, and bruises all over her body, according to details included with the charges.

Relatives asked the judge to impose a life sentence on Muniz

The girl was later placed on a ventilator and transferred to a children's hospital. Muniz told investigators at first that the kid fell from a bunk bed and that injuries to her body and head were the result of seizures that caused her to fall, according to a report from BreakingAC.com.

Authorities said the 22-year-old Muniz admitted striking her child in the nose and mouth hard enough to draw blood after a search of the couple's apartment showed blood on the walls of her daughter's bedroom. The search also turned up multiple pieces of bloodied children's clothing, leading authorities to file charges against Muniz.

Muniz's mom and attorney suggested during the sentencing hearing that Ferrera was responsible for the child's severe injuries. He has not been charged with assaulting the girl, though. According to prosecutors, Ferrera, who is not the girl's biological dad, allegedly delayed getting the child help. He was indicted on a single third-degree count of endangering.

Roberta Doughty, the girl's great-great-aunt, asked the judge to impose a life sentence on Muniz. She argued that the five-year plea deal was inadequate, given what the kid suffered. In her victim impact statement, Doughty said that the young child would never be able to ride a bike, run, play with friends, dress up like a princess or even feed herself.

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Young girl now blind and paralyzed

The little child remains in a treatment facility where she receives 24-hour care after spending months in a children's hospital, followed by a stint in a rehab facility. The beating she experienced at the hands of her mother has left her blind and paralyzed, according to the Daily Voice. A tube has been placed in her head to drain excess fluid. A relative said that she also requires a feeding tube.

Muniz's mom, Arlene Rodriguez, spoke on her daughter's behalf, maintaining that she was not responsible for the kid's life-altering injuries. According to Rodriguez, the girl was safe and well cared for when her grandchild and daughter lived with her. She pinned the blame on Ferrera, accusing him of being a controlling and manipulative boyfriend.

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