The girl escaped a rural San Diego County home in 2025 and reached a neighbor who contacted authorities.
BOULEVARD, Calif. — A California man and his girlfriend were each sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to 15 felony counts tied to the severe abuse of the man’s 7-year-old niece, San Diego County prosecutors said.
Devin Hughes, 39, and Kayla Reynolds, 32, were sentenced Sept. 11 following guilty pleas entered in March, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. The counts included torture, child abuse, corporal injury, mayhem and assault likely to cause great bodily injury. The case came to authorities’ attention after the girl escaped the couple’s mobile home in the rural community of Boulevard in July 2025 and sought help from a neighbor.
Prosecutors said the child had been living under the care of Hughes, her biological uncle, and Reynolds. When she reached the neighbor’s home, authorities said she had visible injuries and appeared malnourished. The neighbor contacted law enforcement after the girl said she was being abused and asked whether she could stay there. Sheriff’s deputies responded and began investigating her account.
The District Attorney’s Office said the girl described a prolonged pattern of mistreatment that included being deprived of food, burned and physically restrained. Prosecutors said she was sometimes secured to a treadmill with a cable lock and was forced to drink dirty toilet water. Authorities also described other degrading punishment. News reports about the case included more graphic details, but prosecutors’ central account was that the child endured repeated physical abuse and neglect while living at the property.
Investigators searched the residence after the girl escaped. According to prosecutors, deputies found poor living conditions and items that they said supported parts of the child’s account, including zip ties, cable locks and vape pens. The District Attorney’s Office said three other children were also living in the home at the time. It did not provide additional details in its sentencing announcement about those children’s current circumstances.
The girl was taken to Rady Children’s Hospital for treatment. Prosecutors said she gained 5 pounds during her hospitalization before being placed with another family member. The District Attorney’s Office has not publicly identified the child, and her name is being withheld because she is a minor and a victim of abuse. Authorities said she was doing well in her new environment after leaving the home.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan called the treatment of the child “abhorrent and heartbreaking.” She credited sheriff’s deputies, detectives, prosecutors and medical workers with helping restore the girl’s safety and health after her escape. Deputy District Attorney Seralyn Fields prosecuted the case, according to the office.
The guilty pleas resolved the criminal charges without a trial. Local reporting from the San Diego Union-Tribune said Hughes and Reynolds were each ordered to serve 25 years in state prison. Because both defendants admitted guilt to the felony counts, the case had moved from allegations awaiting adjudication to sentencing when prosecutors announced the punishment Sept. 11.
The case became public more than a year after the girl’s July 2025 escape, when the District Attorney’s Office announced the sentences and described the evidence gathered by investigators. The office said the child had been able to reach a nearby home and ask for help, triggering the law enforcement response that led to the investigation and eventual prosecution.
Hughes and Reynolds are now facing the prison terms imposed in the case. Prosecutors said the child remains with a family member and is recovering in a safer environment. Authorities have not publicly released further information about her identity, and the sentencing announcement did not identify an additional pending court proceeding in the case.
Author note: Last updated September 18, 2026.