San Diego County Hall of Justice (Google Maps).
A 7-year-old girl escaped from a rural California home where she was allegedly starved, burned, beaten and forced to drink dirty toilet water. She ran to a neighbor and begged to live with them as her uncle and his girlfriend subjected her to the horrific abuse — now the couple is headed to prison.
Devin Hughes, 39, and Kayla Reynolds, 32, were sentenced to 25 years on Friday for abusing Hughes' 7-year-old niece at their mobile home in Boulevard, according to a San Diego County District Attorney's Office press release.
The couple pleaded guilty in March to more than 10 felony counts, including torture, child abuse, corporal injury, mayhem and assault likely to cause great bodily injury.
According to prosecutors, the victim escaped in July 2025 after she "found the courage and opportunity to run to a neighbor's home to ask for help" while covered with bruises, scars, burn marks and a black eye.
"[The girl] escaped her abusers and ran to a neighbor's home where she asked if she could live with him because she was being beaten and abused," the DA's office said in its press release. "The neighbors immediately notified authorities."
When sheriff's deputies arrived, they found the girl malnourished and suffering from visible injuries. She told investigators that Hughes had tied her hands behind her back with a zip tie before tripping her, causing the black eye.
The girl also said that Hughes and Reynolds would cut her hair with a pocketknife and burn her with vape pens. She was allegedly starved and forced to drink dirty toilet water.
"In addition, she was forced to hold her urine to the point of wetting herself and then would be forced to clean it up using her tongue," the DA's office said. "She would be forced to sleep on the floor and would often be chained to a treadmill using a cable lock."
Investigators allegedly found conditions that corroborated the girl's account, including zip ties, cable locks and vape pens. Hughes and Reynolds had three other children living in the home, according to the DA's office.
The victim was hospitalized at Rady Children's Hospital, where she gained 5 pounds during her treatment. She was later placed with a family member and is "now thriving in her new environment," according to prosecutors.
"The level of abuse inflicted on this 7-year-old child is abhorrent and heartbreaking," San Diego County DA Summer Stephan said Friday in a statement, calling Hughes' and Reynolds' treatment of the victim "sickening."
Stephan added, "Our prosecution team, the dedicated deputies and detectives at the Sheriff's Office, along with the medical staff at Rady Children's Hospital who nursed the victim back to health all stepped in to restore her health and safety. She finally has a chance to blossom without the oppressive abuse of her wicked family members."