TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (TCN) — A 44-year-old woman has been sentenced to 364 days in jail in connection with the death of her 10-year-old son in 2024.
According to the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office, first responders arrived at a home on Aug. 22, 2024, after receiving a report of an unresponsive 10-year-old child. Lifesaving measures were performed at the scene, but the child was pronounced dead.
Investigators learned the child had been sick for several days and had never attended school until the third grade.
According to the DA, “The residence was dilapidated and filthy with grime, dirt, live and dead cockroaches, and rodent feces throughout. The house was sparsely furnished with only a queen-sized bed and a couch and was occupied by nine people. Food was sparse or spoiled. There were few cleaning supplies in the house. A 2-year-old child at the house was critically ill and was taken to a local hospital where they were admitted for several days. That child tested positive for rotavirus, a highly contagious gastrointestinal condition often caused by contact with feces.”
The child’s mother, Sandy Flores, reportedly tested positive for methamphetamine and spent much of the family’s earnings on gambling. In May, Flores pleaded no contest to felony child abuse. According to the DA, prosecutors recommended a four-year sentence in state prison, but on Nov. 6, Judge Antonio Reyes sentenced Flores to probation with 364 days in jail.
Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward said, “What this defendant did to her own children was extreme, severe neglect. Her 10-year-old lost his life in a home where he should have been protected. Her 2-year-old also nearly died. …Despite that, the court returned the defendant to the surviving children she victimized. How does that make sense? Probation recommended prison. We argued for prison. The community may ask for an explanation for this atrocity. This weak punishment is inexcusable.”
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