Judge Says Guilty Plea May Be Withdrawn

An Oxnard woman was allowed to withdraw her guilty plea to felony child abuse after a judge told her he would be breaking his promise to sentence her to no more than a year in jail.

Aretha Chester, 25, pleaded guilty in 1994 to intentionally dropping her 3-month-old baby on its head after arguing with the baby’s father. Ventura County Superior Court Judge Joe D. Hadden said Monday he made his sentencing promise at the time of her plea.

A medical report prepared last month indicates the child, now 22 months old, has suffered permanent brain damage. Hadden cited the medical report as his reason for breaking the promise.

Prosecutors said the infant continues to suffer from minor seizures and that the girl’s motor skills are abnormally slow in developing.

Prosecutors allege that Chester held her daughter by the ankles and dangled her head first over a 6-foot fence at a birthday party at Sierra Linda Park in July 1994. Witnesses said Chester was upset the girl’s father was leaving the party and threatened to drop their child if he did not return.