Child Torture Suspect Surrenders

A 41-year-old woman charged with torturing her daughter for years and keeping her out of school surrendered Monday night to authorities in Colton.

Maria Carmen Salcedo of Colton will be arraigned today in El Monte’s Rio Hondo Municipal Court, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Christine S. Weiss.

Salcedo, 41, is charged with torture, felony child endangerment, conspiracy to commit child endangerment and witness intimidation, crimes that could lead to a life sentence.

A warrant had been issued Friday for Salcedo, who surrendered to Colton police in San Bernardino County. She is being held without bail, Weiss said.

Authorities are still searching for Tito Dominguez, 56. He is charged with five counts of rape, two counts of oral copulation, felony child endangerment and conspiracy to commit child endangerment. Dominguez, who faces up to 60 years in prison, was last reported to be in Texas.

The charges follow a Times article detailing accusations that Salcedo and Dominguez treated their slightly mentally retarded daughter, Melissa, like the family slave. They never enrolled her in school, forcing her to perform household chores, endure persistent beatings and hide in a closet when strangers visited, interviews and Juvenile Court documents showed.

The felony complaint filed Friday detailed the abuse Melissa, referred to as “Jane Doe,” allegedly suffered over the years: a broken arm, broken teeth, a burned hand, beatings with a belt buckle, being forced to drink out of the toilet, lack of education and denial of medical and dental treatment.

Melissa, 19, was rescued after two of her half sisters, both of whom had left the family home, went to El Monte police two years ago with allegations that Dominguez sexually abused them as children. Police arrested Dominguez in April 1997, and the same day social workers seized Melissa and seven other children living in the home.

Dominguez was released and left the state after prosecutors determined that they had insufficient evidence. After inquiries by The Times, El Monte police renewed their investigation and interviewed Melissa and her sisters again.

Prosecutors charged Salcedo with tampering with a witness for allegedly telling Melissa in April 1997 not to reveal the years of abuse.