A Las Vegas mother convicted of abusing her adopted children by locking them in rooms where they had to relieve themselves in buckets said “I’m not a perfect parent” as she was sentenced to several years in prison Wednesday.
Addy Gonzales claimed at her sentencing that she “did what I could” for the two children, who were Gonzalez’s niece and nephew and lived in foster care.
Gonzales, her boyfriend Daniel Omezcua and her mother Maria Pasarin were arrested in November 2022 after the female victim, now 20, was found drunk from a hose in a neighbor’s yard and asked for a ladder to climb back to her bedroom on the second floor. , according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal.
When police arrived at the house, they found the girl in a room with a single sheet and two empty dressers. She told authorities that she had been locked in the room for a year and felt like a prisoner.
The girl, who was not identified, and her brother were regularly locked in their rooms, which were secured with a deadbolt, according to The Review-Journal.
“I’m not a perfect parent, your honor, I did what I could for them,” Gonzales told the judge Wednesday. “I gave them a roof, I gave them food.”
The former Clark County School District employee also said she often went to church with the children, who were in foster care before she adopted them.
Gonzales was sentenced to nine to 24 years in prison for the abuse. She was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
The teacher pleaded guilty in August to four counts of child abuse, neglect or endangerment.
Addy Gonzales, a mother convicted of abusing her niece and nephew, claimed she ‘did what I could’ for the children – despite the victim calling it a ‘nightmare’
Gonzales (shown in blue) was sentenced to nine to 24 years in prison for abusing her niece and nephew for years by locking them in rooms with buckets where they could relieve themselves.
Gonzales, her boyfriend Daniel Omezcua and her mother Maria Pasarin were arrested in November 2022 after one of the victims (pictured), now 20, was found drinking from a hose in a neighbor’s garden and asking for a ladder to get into a to climb into the second room. story window
According to The Review-Journal, Pasarin pleaded guilty to two counts of child molestation and Omezcua to a single count. The two were sentenced to probation.
The female victim also spoke at the sentencing on Wednesday, telling the judge: ‘From the age of 10 to the age of 18 my life became a nightmare.’
“I still feel the weight of what Addy did to me,” she continued. “I feel like I’ve been robbed of my childhood, and now I’m thrown into adulthood without the tools I need to survive.”
The young woman recalled her stepmother beating her “almost daily” and said she often withheld food from them as punishment, according to The Las Vegas Review-Journal. She would also force them to clean the house in North Las Vegas.
Pasarin gave the children food and occasionally let them outside their room.
“Looking back, I know my grandmother was one of the reasons we survived,” she testified.
Her brother was not present in court Wednesday.
The grandmother, who sat in a wheelchair in the courtroom, told the judge, “I love those children very much.”
“And if I did anything wrong to them, please forgive me, but I always treated them right,” she said.
Parasin pleaded guilty to two counts of child abuse and Omezcua pleaded guilty to a single charge. The two were sentenced to probation
The victims spent years in foster care before being placed with their aunt in 2013. She formally adopted them in 2015, according to 8 News Now.
Gonzales said their mother suffered from substance abuse, domestic violence and mental health issues, while their father had been in and out of prison and was deported twice.
The stepmother told the judge that she had done a better job of parenting than their children’s biological parents.
Gonzales’ own son was treated better than the victim, according to photos from the home, according to 8 News Now.