What to Know
In July 2025, a 7-year-old girl escaped from a mobile home in rural Boulevard, California, hoping to find help from a neighbor.
The unidentified child reportedly asked to stay at the nearby home because her uncle, Devin Hughes, and his girlfriend, Kayla Reynolds, abused her. The neighbor immediately called 911, ultimately leading to the couple’s arrest. More than a year later, a judge sentenced the pair to 25 years in prison.
The little girl appeared abused and sickly.
The little girl lived with Hughes, Reynolds, and three other children inside the mobile home in rural San Diego County. The day she escaped, she had bruises, scars, burn marks, and a black eye. Sheriff’s deputies who arrived on the scene reported finding the child in poor, malnourished condition. The child told police a horrific story and said her uncle tied her hands behind her back with a zip tie, then tripped her, which resulted in a black eye. But the story got even worse.
Hughes and Reynolds reportedly exposed the child to horrific conditions.
Deputies went to the family’s home and found “horrendous living conditions and several items of evidence that corroborated the horrible abuse suffered by the victim, including zip ties, cable locks, and vape pens.” The little girl told police the adults cut her hair with a pocketknife, burned her with vape pens, and forced her to drink dirty toilet water. She claimed they made her hold her urine until she wet herself and then forced her to lick up the mess.
The couple pleaded guilty to multiple felonies.
Authorities removed the child from the home and transported her to Rady Children’s Hospital, where she gained five pounds during her stay. She’s now thriving with a family member in a new home environment. Hughes, 39, and Reynolds, 32, each pleaded guilty in March 2026 to 15 felony counts that included torture, child abuse, corporal injury, mayhem, and assault likely to cause great bodily injury.
“The level of abuse inflicted on this 7-year-old child is abhorrent and heartbreaking,” Stephan said. “Our prosecution team, the dedicated deputies and detectives at the Sheriff’s Office, along with the medical staff at Rady Children’s Hospital who nursed the victim back to health all stepped in to restore her health and safety. She finally has a chance to blossom without the oppressive abuse of her wicked family member.”
The couple will spend more than two decades in prison.
A judge sentenced Reynolds and Hughes to 25 years in prison for their horrific crimes.
Some in the comment section on Fox 5’s Facebook page don’t think the couple will spend nearly enough time behind bars.
“Death penalty for child abuse and people will start getting the message! Thank goodness this girl was brave enough to escape before they killed her,” someone wrote. “Praying she gets the best life now!”
This person would love to see the couple face the same abuse they doled out to an innocent child. “That’s absolutely disgusting! Those POS need to have the same done to them,” they wrote.
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