A little girl from San Antonio was violently hurt and sexually assaulted and it is believed that this may not have been this first time it happened. The child is recovering in the hospital right now.
A female relative and her boyfriend have been charged in connection with the crime and have been taken into custody.
The assault came to light when Krystal Herrera, 22, made a call to Police and told deputies the toddler had been attacked by dogs.
However, when the deputies spoke to Herrera and her boyfriend, Isaac Cardenas, 23, at the scene, their stories didn’t add up. When the little girl was examined, they noticed that injuries were not consistent with the story that had been given, which resulted in the arrest of the pair.
Herrera and her boyfriend, Isaac Cardenas
Cardenas has been charged with super aggravated sexual assault of a child with bail set at $300,000.
The girl’s relative, Herrera, was also charged with serious bodily injury to a child by omission. The court affidavit says that Herrera called for help three hours after she noticed blood while giving the 21-month-old victim a bath.
Herrera said that she had tried to take the child to get help, but her vehicle was stuck in the sand.
The 21-month-old suffered “acute respiratory failure” and will have to undergo reconstructive surgery to repair her injuries.
Investigators have also found that there was a separate physical abuse investigation which happened before this incident and that Herrera refused to get help then too.
The child is recovering at University Hospital and Child Protective Services will get custody of her once she is released.