Woman gets life term for torturing teen

A Modesto woman was sentenced to life in prison Monday after she pleaded guilty to torturing a teenage girl after the teenager took the woman's truck, the district attorney's office announced.

After being held for two nights in June 2007, the girl escaped as her captors were driving her to Stockton where they said she would be forced to perform sex acts for money, officials said.

According to authorities, Graciela Elmira Cervantes, 27, was "bent on revenge" after the girl, described as a runaway, took the woman's truck without permission.

The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department reported that Cervantes held the victim captive for two days, starting June 24, at Cervantes' home in the 2300 block of La Paz Court near Memorial Medical Center.

Sheriff's spokesman deputy Royjindar Singh said last year that Cervantes stabbed the victim several times before locking her in a bedroom closet.

Cervantes, prosecutors said, held the teenager for two nights, subjecting her to a range of torture: beating her; cutting her long hair to her scalp; burning her with cigarettes; cutting the web of her hand with scissors; and making her lick her own blood from the floor.

On June 26, Cervantes and Daniel Peña, described by officials as Cervantes' boyfriend, put the victim in a car to drive her to Stockton, "where they told her she would be prostituted out for money," according to the district attorney's office.

During the ride, Peña pulled over near Gallo Glass, 605 S. Santa Cruz Ave., where the girl jumped out and ran toward the guard station, authorities said. Security personnel called law enforcement as Cervantes and Peña sped off.

Authorities searched for Cervantes until her arrest Aug. 8, 2007, identifying her on July 11 as one of Modesto's "Most Wanted." She had pleaded not guilty until earlier this month, but changed her plea to guilty Friday during a hearing to prepare for the jury trial.

Peña, 26, was arrested in July 2007 on suspicion of rape. Detectives said he was one of several men Cervantes solicited to have sex with the victim for money.

According to the district attorney's office, Peña pleaded guilty to rape in August and was sentenced to 365 days in jail. He was released because he had already served his time.

A woman authorities identified as Cervantes' aunt also pleaded guilty for her role in the crime. Detectives said Ida Hernandez, then 53, helped kidnap the victim from her home.

Hernandez pleaded guilty in February and was sentenced to 365 days in jail for false imprisonment. She was released earlier this year.

Several members of Cervantes' household, present during the torture, testified at the preliminary hearing, which spanned three days over two months, according to the district attorney's office.

Cervantes also pleaded guilty to a robbery in September 2006 where, officials said, she held a knife to the victim's neck and demanded her bank card and PIN.

"Both charges are serious and violent felonies which require the defendant to serve 85 percent of her time in prison," according to the district attorney's office.

Cervantes will not be eligible for a parole hearing until 2018.

Bee staff writer Emilie Raguso can be reached at eraguso@modbee.com or 578-2235.

This story was originally published October 28, 2008 at 2:38 AM.