HOLLADAY – A man and his girlfriend are facing child abuse charges as prosecutors say he severely beat her nine-year-old son. They say the boy could have died had the abuse not stopped.
The boy’s injuries were first spotted by doctors at Primary Children’s hospital in November. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill says, “He was unable to move his arms and legs. He had been vomiting for several days.” Upon closer look, doctors noticed the boy had a series of injuries spanning over a long time, including injuries to his brain and his pancreas. Gill says the reasons given for the injuries did not add up, and the boy was taken from his mother, Kyra Pacheco, and her boyfriend, Sawyer Hutto.
After some time of being in the custody of another family, Gill says the boy was able to open up about what happened. “His disclosure was that he had been slammed into the wall on multiple times, with his head causing dents into the wall with such force,” he says. There were also times when the boy was reportedly forced to do wall-sits, and was beaten if couldn’t do them. Plus, he claimed he had been locked in a closet with no light for extended periods of time, and was only allowed out to eat or go to the bathroom. Also, there were reported threats. Gill says, “He had had a knife that was held to his throat.”
Police were sent to the home where the alleged abuse happened, and Gill says they found the dents in the wall left by the boy’s head.
Along with four counts of felony child abuse, Hutto is also facing a kidnapping charge. Gill says Hutto tried to make sure no one would know about the abuse. “He was not allowed to go to school because the bruising and the injuries, sometimes, were so severe that it’s alleged Mr. Hutto did not want third parties, teachers or other people to be aware of the abuse that was occurring,” Gill says.
The boy’s mother, Pacheco, was reportedly present during some of the cases of alleged abuse. So, she is also facing one count of felony child abuse.