PHOENIX— Francisco Covarrubias (D.O.B. 08-12-1985) was sentenced today to 35 years in the Department of Corrections and lifetime probation upon release, after pleading guilty to three counts of attempted child abuse and two counts of kidnapping.
“When an adult causes harm to a child like this, violating both the trust and innocence of a child, they must be held accountable for their depraved actions,” said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. “This Office is committed to aggressively prosecuting offenders who abuse the most innocent and defenseless among us, ensuring they are sent to prison where they belong.”
On January 18, 2016 officers received reports that a 3-year-old girl was being severely abused by her caretaker and he was possibly offering the young child to other men to sexually abuse. Once officers located the Mesa apartment where the girl was seen, they found Covarrubias inside the apartment but no sign of the little girl.
The defendant finally admitted to officers the victim was being kept in a closet. They discovered the young girl on the floor of a hallway closet inside of a trash bag that had been pulled up to the top of her head. Once officers freed her from the trash bag they found that she had tape over her mouth and tape bounding her wrists and ankles. She had multiple bruises and injuries and had obviously been left in a heavily soiled diaper for some time.
The little girl was taken to a nearby hospital where she was found to be malnourished and dehydrated. She also had extensive injuries related to being left in soiled diapers and possibly sexual abuse. She was not able to communicate and could barely stand.
Covarrubias admitted to placing the victim in the trash bag so her soiled diaper would not get on his apartment floor. He also said he kept her bound in the closet, so she would not get out when he had company over and when he left her alone for hours while he was at work. He said the child’s mother had been a previous co-worker and he had been watching the child off and on for her for a couple of months.