Man Sentenced to Prison in Beating Death of Girlfriend's Son

The 2-year-old boy died from blows to the head and stomach

A Southern California man was sentenced Wednesday to prison in the beating death of his live-in girlfriend's 2-year-old son.

Samuel Aguilar, 24, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and other charges stemming from the tot's death as a Long Beach jury was set to begin hearing the case against him Sept. 12. Along with voluntary manslaughter, Aguilar pleaded no contest to three counts of dissuading a witness from reporting a crime, two counts of child abuse and one count of injuring a spouse or cohabitant.

He was sentenced to 32 years and four months in state prison.

The toddler's mother, Jessica Cereceres, now 26, pleaded no contest May 4 to a pair of felony abuse counts. She was sentenced to five years and four months in prison and ordered to stay away from her surviving child for 10 years.

Josue Maldonado was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, after Signal Hill police responded to a call that the toddler wasn't breathing on Aug. 10, 2014. Investigators discovered that the boy's 1-year-old brother also had injuries to his body, Deputy District Attorney L. Christmas Brookens said.

Aguilar and Cereceres were charged in 2015 following a yearlong examination of reports and evidence involving injuries to her two children, including a determination that the older boy had died from blows to the head and stomach, according to the prosecutor.

Authorities concluded that the injuries occurred while the 2-year-old was in Aguilar's care and following a physical argument with Cereceres, the prosecutor said.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
Contact Us