Texas Dad Beat His Two-Year-Old Son for ‘Acting Gay’
The defendent, sentenced to six years in jail, told the judge he was upset the boy wanted to play with dolls and kitchen sets.
Francisco Ricardo Sotello Baez has been sentenced to six years in prison for beating his two-year-old son because he believed the boy might be gay.
The 23-year-old Texan was charged after admitting to repeatedly hitting the toddler in the face, causing him to bleed from the nose.
He pleaded “no contest,” meaning that he neither admitted nor denied the charges against him, but agreed to accept a punishment as if he had been found guilty.
The attacks were allegedly motivated by the father’s desire to “toughen up” his son.
He believed the two-year-old was acting effeminately because he preferred playing with Barbies and kitchen sets instead of cars and robots.
He told the judge he was disappointed that his first son might be gay — something reportedly prompted by statements made by the child’s mother and grandmother speculating that the boy might turn out to be gay.
Sotello reportedly texted the boy’s mother after he beat him, telling her he had done something to “your child” that she wasn’t going to like.
Sotello expressed remorse for his actions, and pleaded with the judge for leniency, explaining that he has a newborn — his second son — to take care of at home, and claimed that he had started attending church to turn his life around.
The father of five blamed his actions, in part, on drug and alcohol abuse, which impaired his judgment, according to a video from the courtroom that was posted to the YouTube channel People in Court.
At sentencing, Judge Stephanie Boyd, of the 187th District Court in Bexar County, Texas, sought to understand what had led Sotello to engage in violent behavior.
“Basically, you beat up a two-year-old because you think your two-year-old is gay, and you wanna toughen up a two-year-old,” the judge said. “He’s two!”
Boyd also noted that Sotello had previously been accused of domestic violence, and admitted in court that he had previously attacked his son’s mother. She noted that earlier interventions, such as court-mandated courses aimed at curbing violent behavior, appear not to have led him to change his behavior.
Boyd sentenced Sotello to six years in prison, with credit for time already served. She indicated that, while serving his sentence, he might be eligible for therapy that would focus on modifying his behavior.
Because the alleged crime involved domestic violence, she told Sotello he was banned from owning or possessing any weapons or ammunition.
The judge forbade Sotello from contacting his son, any of his other children, and any minors during and after serving his sentence. At one point, she even suggested that the 23-year-old not continue to reproduce.
Boyd advised Sotello — who is undocumented — that he would not be allowed to re-enter the United States after his release unless he does so legally.
Sotello’s lawyer noted that his client faces other upcoming court proceedings regarding his immigration status, alluding to the fact that Sotello may face deportation.
“I can’t stop you from having children, but if you can’t financially take care of your children, if mentally, you’re not ready — which it appears to me you’re not ready — if you’re going to be violent, then you shouldn’t really be around children, you shouldn’t be having more children,” Boyd concluded. “Do you understand? All right, good luck to you.”
Unfortunately, Sotello is not the only parent to act violently toward his child due to homophobic beliefs.
In 2019, a man abandoned his son on the highway, without food or water, because he believed the child was gay. That same year, another father in Nevada killed his son because the child was gay. Similarly, a father in the United Kingdom was jailed after beating his son because the youth had downloaded Grindr on his phone.
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