- Michelle Nicole Hidalgo pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a girl last year
- The plea deal caused prosecutors to drop child pornography charges.
- He faces life in prison but will have the possibility of parole after 15
A California babysitter who sexually assaulted a girl in her care so she could send photos to a man she met online could be released from prison in just 15 years.
Michelle Nicole Hidalgo, 29, was arrested in Antioch, California, in September and charged with seven felony counts of child pornography and three counts of sexual abuse.
On Friday morning, he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing the baby, but his plea deal required prosecutors drop distribution of child pornography and additional charges of child abuse.
The charge to which he pleaded guilty means Hidalgo faces 15 years to life in prison at his sentencing hearing scheduled for July. But he will have a chance for parole after 15 years.according to court records obtained by Mercury news.
Michelle Nicole Hidalgo pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a girl in her care, but her sentence may be shorter than expected
Michelle Nicole Hidalgo, was arrested in Antioch, California, in September and charged with seven felony counts of child pornography and three counts of sexual abuse.
Hidalgo was arrested after Contra Costa County deputies received a tip from an anonymous social media platform about images of child abuse shared by the babysitter on their platform.
When they investigated her online activity, police reported finding conversations between her and a man who requested “increasingly worse” images of the girl.
The babysitter was still employed by the victim’s family at the time of her arrest.
In addition to the four felony counts of child pornography she previously faced, Hidalgo was charged with three additional counts of child abuse of a victim under the age of 10 and using a minor for sexual acts.
When Hidalgo was confronted by a top DA inspector about the images, she allegedly admitted to sharing the images, calling it a “stupid” one-time mistake.
But police suspected she had also sexually abused the baby on the orders of the man she sent the images to.
After receiving the initial tip, the Contra Costa County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force conducted a search warrant at his home, where they seized “equipment used in the production and distribution” of the child abuse images. .
District Attorney Diana Becton previously said authorities have not ruled out the possibility of other victims.
Hidalgo initially pleaded not guilty to the charges at his first court appearance last year.
On Friday morning, the 29-year-old pleaded guilty, but her plea deal meant prosecutors had to drop charges of distribution of child pornography and additional charges of child abuse.
The charge to which Hidalgo (pictured) pleaded guilty means he faces a minimum of 15 years in prison.
His bail was originally set at $700,000 before it was increased to $2.7 million.
The district attorney’s office said at her first hearing that it would defend keeping her behind bars if her defense requested a bail reduction because “she is a danger.”
According to Hidalgo’s Facebook profile, she is originally from Pacifica, California, and graduated from Terra Nova High School.
