Authorities say cameras inside and outside the home backed an 11-year-old girl’s account of abuse and harsh living conditions.
SALIDA, Calif. — Investigators in Stanislaus County say surveillance footage from a Salida home helped support allegations that an 11-year-old girl was tortured for about a year by her aunt and the aunt’s partner, who now face 27 charges each.
The significance of the case lies in how quickly it appears to have moved from disclosure to a document-heavy prosecution. Authorities say the child’s statements were followed by a search warrant, recovery of video from cameras inside and outside the residence, and evidence that she had been living in a backyard and an unfinished garage. That combination gave prosecutors a basis to file some of the most serious child abuse charges in California law, including torture and conspiracy to commit torture, while leaving investigators room to seek more counts as they continue reviewing the material taken from the property.
What authorities say the cameras captured is central to the narrative they have publicly presented. Detectives reported finding footage that corroborated the girl’s statements and helped show that she was “living primarily” in the garage and backyard. They have not released the video, described specific clips frame by frame or said whether it will be played in open court soon. Still, investigators used the recordings to support broader claims that the child was subjected to repeated punishment over time, not an isolated incident. The home itself, they said, supplied part of that proof. The garage, according to the sheriff’s account, was unfinished and uninsulated, lacked heating and air conditioning, and had not been converted into a lawful living space. In the state’s telling, the setting was itself evidence.
From there, authorities built the case outward. They allege the girl was strangled, punched and slapped, denied adequate nutrition and pushed into strenuous physical exercise until she was exhausted. They also say she was dragged with a dog leash and threatened with further harm. Those details matter because the filed counts suggest prosecutors see not only physical abuse but intent, planning and sustained control. Officials have not publicly explained what object or conduct underlies the assault-with-a-deadly-weapon count, and they have not said how malnourished the child was when she came to their attention. The public record described in news reports also does not answer whether medical staff documented visible injuries on Jan. 31 or in the days that followed. For now, those unanswered questions sit beside the stronger parts of the state’s public case: the child’s account, the search results and the recorded footage.
The chronology surfaces later in this version because the investigative trail is what gives the story shape. Deputies first became involved on Jan. 31, 2026, after they were told an 11-year-old girl was refusing to return home because her aunt had been abusing her. Detectives then learned the child had been in the custody of Priscilla Mestaz, 37, and Anthony Machuca, 36, since the summer of 2024. Prosecutors say the abuse ran from January 2025 into January 2026. Machuca was arrested at the home during the early stage of the inquiry. Mestaz was not booked then because, authorities said, she was in an advanced stage of pregnancy. She was later arrested on March 12, about six weeks after giving birth. By March 16, officials publicly announced the complaint and the array of charges. That gap between the first report and the final arrest helps explain why the case unfolded in stages rather than in one sweep.
Another striking feature is who investigators say one defendant was outside the home. During the inquiry, detectives said they learned Mestaz worked as a child and family services case manager for a local organization. Authorities have not publicly named the employer in the reports reviewed, nor have they said whether her work duties involved direct contact with vulnerable children at the time of the alleged abuse. But the disclosure changed the public meaning of the case. It shifted the story from a private household accusation to one that raised questions about trust, screening and oversight around people employed in family-serving roles. At the same time, officials have been careful not to say that any agency failure has been established. Public statements so far focus on the criminal allegations, not on licensing or employment sanctions.
The visible aftermath inside the household was immediate. Authorities said a 4-year-old child found at the residence and the newborn later delivered by Mestaz were taken into protective custody by Stanislaus County Child Protective Services. Officials have not publicly said where the 11-year-old is now or whether she was placed with relatives, foster caregivers or another arrangement. Neighbors’ accounts have not played a major role in the public file so far; instead, nearly every key detail released has come from investigators. That gives the case a closed, evidence-room feel. The picture the sheriff’s office has drawn is spare but sharp: a child in custody, a home under surveillance, a garage not fit for habitation, and a criminal complaint built around what detectives say the cameras and the search turned up.
As of the latest public reports, both defendants remained jailed on $1 million bail while investigators continued to review seized digital and physical evidence. The next step is expected to come in Stanislaus County court, where prosecutors will begin testing how much of the case they can move from investigative summary into admissible proof.
Author note: Last updated April 9, 2026.