A family services social worker and her boyfriend are accused of torturing an 11-year-old girl in their care, starving her, strangling her and forcing her to wear a dog leash.
Priscilla Mestaz and her partner, Anthony Machuca, currently face 27 felony and misdemeanor charges, including torture, conspiracy to commit torture, child endangerment with serious bodily injury or death, and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the alleged abuse, according to a statement from the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office.
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The investigation began on Jan. 31 after deputies received a report that an 11-year-old girl refused to return to the home she shared with Mestaz. Mestas is her aunt and a case manager at a child and family services organization. The victim, who was not identified in the sheriff’s statement, told deputies she was physically abused.
According to authorities, deputies and detectives from the department’s Special Victims Unit contacted Mestaz, who said her niece had been living with her and Machuca since the summer of 2024.
Priscilla Mestaz and Anthony Machuca booking photos
During the investigation, the Sheriff’s Office said they obtained a search warrant and discovered surveillance cameras at the house that “corroborated the victim’s story.”
They also determined the girl lived primarily in an uninsulated, unheated garage in the backyard, “exposing the child to unsafe temperatures year-round,” according to the statement.
The girl also suffered severe physical abuse between January 2025 and January 2026, including “choking, punching and slapping,” according to a criminal complaint filed March 16 by the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office and referenced in the sheriff’s statement. The couple is also accused of “denying the victim adequate nutrition,” causing her to be “malnourished,” and forcing her to complete “strenuous physical exercise” or be threatened with assault, the complaint states.
The victim was also restrained and dragged by a dog leash and subjected to “continued verbal abuse,” prosecutors said.
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Machuca was arrested the same day deputies first contacted her, but Mestaz, who was in her third trimester of pregnancy, was not arrested until after she gave birth on March 12, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The infant and another 4-year-old child living at the home were taken into custody by Stanislaus County Child Protective Services.
The Sheriff’s Office said additional charges may be filed against the pair as it continues to review digital evidence in the case.
Both defendants are currently being held on $1 million bail after detectives completed bail increases in the case.
They are expected to face charges on March 26, according to court records reviewed by the court. Oxygen Network. Mestaz’s records did not list an attorney. oxygen network Machuca’s attorney, Joseph Cox, was contacted but did not immediately receive a response.
