Francisco Ricardo Sotello Baez, a 23-year-old from Texas, has been sentenced to six years in prison for assaulting his two-year-old son, believing the boy might be gay. Sotello admitted to repeatedly punching his son in the face, leaving him bleeding from the nose. He later pleaded “no contest,” meaning he did not admit guilt but accepted the punishment as if he had been found guilty.
The assaults were reportedly The reason was Sotello’s belief that his son acted effeminately, as the boy preferred to play with toys like Barbies and kitchen sets rather than cars and robots. Sotello allegedly wanted to “toughen up” his son, influenced by comments from the boy’s mother and grandmother, who speculated that the boy might be homosexual.
After the beating, Sotello texted the boy’s mother telling her he had done something “to her son” that she would not like. In court, Sotello expressed regret for his actions and asked for leniency, citing his responsibilities as a father of a newborn and stating that he had started attending church to turn his life around. He also attributed his actions to drug and alcohol abuse.
At the sentencing, Judge Stephanie Boyd of Bexar County’s 187th District Court expressed disbelief at Sotello’s reasoning for attacking his son. “You basically beat up a two-year-old because you think your two-year-old is gay and you want to toughen up a two-year-old,” she said, emphasizing the boy’s young age. Boyd also pointed to Sotello’s history of domestic violence, including previous assaults on the boy’s mother, recounted in the article. Pink News.
Despite previous court-ordered interventions intended to curb the violent behavior, Sotello’s pattern of aggression persisted. In addition to the six-year prison sentence, Sotello was prohibited from communicating with his son, any of his other children, and all other minors during and after their sentence. He is also prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition due to the domestic violence nature of his crime.
The judge informed Sotello, who is undocumented, that he will not be allowed to reenter the United States after his release unless he does so through legal means. His attorney acknowledged that Sotello could face deportation after his sentencing.
Judge Boyd gave Sotello a stern message and advised her to reconsider having more children. “If you are going to be violent, then you should not be around children, you should not have any more children,” she said.
Sadly, this case is not an isolated incident. Other parents have committed similar acts of violence against their children due to homophobic beliefs, including abandoning or even killing their children because of their perceived sexual orientation.
