Anthony woman accused of breaking infant's bones sentenced to time served and released

Leah Romero, Las Cruces Sun-News
·3 min read
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Idali Ortiz-Munoz, 21, in Third Judicial District Court, Tuesday Dec. 31, 2019, in Third Judicial District Court. Ortiz-Munoz is accused of child abuse, and failing to report child abuse.
Idali Ortiz-Munoz, 21, in Third Judicial District Court, Tuesday Dec. 31, 2019, in Third Judicial District Court. Ortiz-Munoz is accused of child abuse, and failing to report child abuse.

LAS CRUCES – An Anthony woman pleaded guilty to child abuse not resulting in great bodily harm Monday, over two years after the case was filed in court.

Idali Ortiz-Muñoz, 23, was charged in December 2019 with child abuse resulting in great bodily harm — a first-degree felony — when her infant daughter was found to have several bone fractures and showed signs of possible malnourishment. Ortiz-Muñoz has been held in the Doña Ana County Detention Center since her arrest.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and multiple continuances, the abuse case was delayed until an upcoming trial date in May 2022. However, Ortiz-Muñoz accepted an agreement with the state and pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of abuse not resulting in great bodily harm on Jan. 3, during a hearing before 3rd Judicial District Court Judge Conrad Perea.

The lesser charge is a third-degree felony with a maximum allowed sentence of three years in prison, a $1,000 fine and two years of parole. Perea accepted the plea and sentenced the woman to three years, a $500 fine and two years of parole. He also acknowledged that this charge was not legally considered a serious violent offense.

Perea credited Ortiz-Muñoz with the time she has served presentencing which totaled two years and nine days. He suspended the remaining 355 days of the sentence as well as the fine.

Ortiz-Muñoz was released from the detention center the same day with instructions to report to the parole office. Ortiz-Muñoz stated she is not a U.S. citizen which means deportation is a likely possibility.

According to court documents, the baby was just under 2 months old when she was taken to Providence Children's Hospital in El Paso due to swelling and limpness in the baby’s upper arm. She was found to have fractures in her upper arm and collar bone. A CT scan also showed slightly older fractures to the baby’s ribs.

According to a doctoral nurse practitioner and social worker who spoke to law enforcement, “bones of a 6-week-old infant have yet to harden and are soft and ‘rubbery.’” The force necessary to cause the fractures was indicative of abuse.

Ortiz-Muñoz and the baby’s father, Christian De La Torre, both later told police that they may have handled the baby “aggressively” in several instances. Both were ultimately arrested.

In a statement to police following his arrest, De La Torre said he picked up his daughter by the rib cage "area" while arguing with his Ortiz-Muñoz over a lost EBT card a few days before Christmas 2019.

Ortiz-Muñoz told investigators she could have broken the infant's arm by pulling it when she tried to change her daughter's clothes.

De La Torre is charged with child abuse resulting in great bodily harm, a first-degree felony, and his case is scheduled to go to trial in early February. He continues to be held in the Doña Ana County Detention Center.

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Leah Romero is the trending reporter at the Las Cruces Sun-News and can be reached at 575-418-3442, LRomero@lcsun-news.com or @rromero_leah on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Anthony woman pleads guilty to child abuse; released on parole