A Texas father who admitted striking his 2-year-old son because the child preferred Barbie dolls and toy kitchens over cars, robots and soccer was sentenced to six years in prison after Judge Stephanie Boyd rejected his request for another chance and sharply questioned the thinking behind the abuse.
Francisco Ricardo Sotello Baez had entered a no-contest plea and asked the court for deferred adjudication, telling Boyd that he wanted probation so he could remain involved in the lives of his five children, support his parents and prove that the felony would be his first and last.
The sentencing, shown in footage posted by The Court Docket Network, took a much darker turn, however, when Boyd began asking why a grown man had repeatedly struck a toddler in the face, eventually drawing out an explanation centered on the boy’s choice of toys and concerns voiced within the family that he might grow up to be gay.
Defendant Asks the Court for Another Chance
At the beginning of the hearing, Boyd reminded Sotello Baez that the state was asking for six years in prison, while remaining silent on his application for deferred adjudication.
His attorney, Matthew Finch, told the court that family members had planned to attend but were sick, and the defendant chose to proceed without delaying the hearing so they could appear remotely.
When it was his turn to speak, Sotello Baez asked Boyd for leniency and said he had recently become a father again.
“I really want you to give me a second chance to redeem myself,” he told the judge, explaining that he was 23 years old, had five children and wanted to remain present for them rather than go to prison.
He also said he helped his mother and father with rent, cared for his younger brother and had been trying to change his life by attending church while jailed.
Boyd listened and even paused to reassure him when he became nervous about speaking English, offering to bring in an interpreter if that would make him more comfortable.
The atmosphere changed once she began asking about the child he had assaulted.
Judge Presses Him on Why He Hit a 2-Year-Old
Boyd asked Sotello Baez how old the child was, and he confirmed the boy was 2.
She then referenced a text message described in the police report in which he allegedly told the child’s mother, “You’re not going to like what I just did. I hit your son.”
Boyd wanted to know why he had hit him.
Sotello Baez initially pointed to stress in his life, saying he had been fighting with relatives and that his wife was in the hospital, but the judge rejected that as an explanation.
“How does that translate you to hitting a 2-year-old?” Boyd asked.
The defendant then said he had been “a little bit tough” with his son because the boy was his first male child and had grown up surrounded by girls.
He told the court he bought cars, robots and other toys he considered appropriate for boys, but the child did not seem interested.
“What does he want to play with?” Boyd asked.
“He wants to play with Barbies,” Sotello Baez replied.
That answer became the central issue in the hearing.
Barbie Dolls and Kitchen Toys Become the Focus
Sotello Baez told the judge that his wife and mother had told him the boy might grow up to be gay, and he acknowledged that the idea bothered him.
Boyd immediately challenged the logic.
“So, your thing is, let me hit my 2-year-old because people are telling me he’s going to be gay,” she said.
She then walked through the defendant’s views about toys, asking whether a GI Joe figure would also count as a doll and pointing out that Barbie’s male counterpart, Ken, was still a doll.
Sotello Baez said he simply did not want his son playing with dolls.
The discussion then moved to the toy kitchen the boy liked using.
Boyd asked whether that meant male chefs should also be viewed as doing something feminine or inappropriate, and later mentioned celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck to make the point that a boy liking cooking says nothing about his future sexual orientation.
The exchange was blunt, but the judge’s broader point was simple: a toddler’s interest in a doll or kitchen set did not justify violence, and the father’s attempt to “toughen him up” had instead left the child injured and afraid.
Child Was Left Bruised and Bleeding
Boyd then returned to the physical injuries described in the police report.
She said the child suffered bruising and swelling to the face and a bloody nose, and that Sotello Baez had admitted in a message to striking him several times.
“In what world is it okay to slap a 2-year-old in the face?” Boyd asked.
She wanted to know what he thought he was teaching the child.
Sotello Baez acknowledged that the boy cried, and Boyd pressed further, asking whether he continued striking him while he was already crying and bleeding.
The defendant said he did not clearly remember the nosebleed, though he said he cleaned the child’s face afterward.
Boyd then asked whether he apologized directly to the toddler, rather than only to the boy’s mother.
The judge also questioned whether the other children in the home could have heard the crying, even if they were in another room.
There is no way to make that part of the case sound less serious than it was. Whatever the defendant believed he was correcting, the person on the receiving end was a 2-year-old child who had no ability to defend himself against an adult.
Prior Family-Violence History Weighs Against Probation
The hearing became even more damaging for Sotello Baez when Boyd reviewed his criminal history.
She noted that he had a previous family-violence assault involving the mother of his children and questioned why he kept hitting people he claimed to love.
The defendant later said he had been using drugs and had tried a new substance around the time of the incident, suggesting that it affected his behavior.
Boyd was not persuaded, particularly because the police report indicated the treatment of the child may not have been an isolated event.
She cited statements that Sotello Baez had repeatedly disciplined the boy unnecessarily because he viewed him as too feminine and wanted to toughen him up.
His attorney nevertheless asked the judge for probation, arguing that his client was young, had family support and could benefit from programs addressing domestic violence, substance use and parenting.
The defense also noted that Sotello Baez was not a U.S. citizen and faced separate immigration proceedings, while stressing that probation could give him a chance to learn how to raise his children differently.
Boyd Imposes Six-Year Prison Sentence
After hearing the arguments, Boyd found Sotello Baez guilty and sentenced him to six years in prison, with credit for time served.
She also entered an affirmative finding of family violence and ordered that he have no contact with the child involved in the case, his other children or minors.
The judge further barred him from possessing weapons or ammunition because of the felony conviction and family-violence finding.
When Sotello Baez again asked for a second chance after the sentence was announced, Boyd explained why she had refused.
She said his prior family-violence case had already given him access to court-required intervention programs, yet the new offense showed that those earlier measures had not changed his behavior.
“You have learned nothing,” Boyd told him.
She then summarized the case in the bluntest terms of the hearing.
“You basically beat up a 2-year-old because you think your 2-year-old is gay and you want to toughen up a 2-year-old,” she said. “He’s two.”
Judge Says Toddler Had No Chance to Defend Himself
Boyd compared the assault to placing an adult in a boxing ring against a toddler, noting that the child had no meaningful chance to protect himself.
She again referenced the bloody nose, repeated blows and the text message sent afterward to the boy’s mother.
The judge also rejected the idea that playing with a kitchen set should have been viewed as a problem, noting that encouraging an interest in cooking could have been something positive rather than something to punish.
By that point, Boyd’s reasoning was clear: the issue was not a parenting disagreement over toys but an adult using violence against a very young child because the child did not conform to his expectations.
She told Sotello Baez that his son had already experienced “trauma and drama” because of him and said the boy could now grow up associating men with being hurt.
Before ending the hearing, Boyd said that if Sotello Baez was not financially, mentally or emotionally prepared to care for children without becoming violent, he should not be having more children or being around them.
The six-year sentence therefore reflected more than the injuries from one episode; Boyd made clear that she saw a pattern of family violence, failed intervention and a disturbing attempt to use physical punishment to force a toddler into a narrow idea of how a boy should behave.
A former park ranger and wildlife conservationist, Lisa’s passion for survival started with her deep connection to nature. Raised on a small farm in northern Wisconsin, she learned how to grow her own food, raise livestock, and live off the land. Lisa is our dedicated Second Amendment news writer and also focuses on homesteading, natural remedies, and survival strategies. Lisa aims to help others live more sustainably and prepare for the unexpected.
