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On June 19, 2009, Carlos Ebron was given an eight year active prison sentence for the felony child neglect he inflicted on his two-and-a-half year old son.  Judge Pugh of the Newport News Circuit Court declared it a “heinous and horrendous” case.

In November 2007, the toddler was discovered under a bathroom sink by a hotel manager who had been summoned to fix the room’s television. At first believing the boy to be a doll, the manager was horrified when he realized it was a boy and called authorities.

The boy weighed only 17 pounds at the time of his discovery and was extremely dehydrated and malnourished. Medical experts would testify that on average, the boy should have weighed close to 30 pounds and likely would have died if he had not been discovered when he had been. 

In addition to the signs of starvation, doctors also discovered numerous injuries on the toddler consistent with beatings and lying in one place for hours at a time.  Photographs documenting the neglect were introduced into evidence. Ebron admitted to using a belt to discipline his son.  Ebron admitted that while trying to potty train his son, he would have the boy sit on the potty for up to a half hour and would beat him when he would try to get up. Ebron stated that he tried to feed the toddler but the boy wouldn’t swallow; however, while in the care of medical staff, the child’s weight increased by 50% within 16 days of his admission.

The case was prosecuted by Valerie Spencer Muth, Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney, who stated it was almost “impossible to imagine a more egregious case of child abuse.” Sentencing guidelines for the crime had a range of punishment between seven months and one year, eleven months.  Ms. Muth asked the judge to deviate upward from the guidelines and sentence Ebron to 10 years, the maximum allowable under the statute. Judge Pugh sentence Ebron to 10 years, with two years suspended, conditioned upon 30 years uniform good behavior and 10 years intensive supervised probation. He is to have no contact with his son unless authorized by the court.

The victim in this case now lives with his grandfather and by all reports is a happy and loving boy. He will be attending pre-kindergarten in the fall.

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