Couple Accused of Child Abuse
An Oxnard couple accused of repeatedly tying up their young son to keep him from going after food in the refrigerator were ordered Wednesday to stand trial on child abuse charges.
Municipal Court Judge John Smiley ordered a Superior Court trial to be scheduled for Laura Tafoya and her husband, Jorge Cochran, in the alleged abuse of their 3-year-old son.
The two are being held in the Ventura County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bail apiece pending a Superior Court arraignment scheduled for Aug. 28.
“She tied his ankles together every night for a month,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Jackie Wise said after the hearing. “They both admitted to having an abuse problem and that they needed help. She admitted to tying up her child with rope or a sweater, and it left scarring, bruising and scabs on his ankles.”
The boy and his 11-month-old brother are in a foster home now, while their 6-year-old brother and 5-year-old sister are being cared for at the Casa Pacifica shelter, Wise said.
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