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Father of slain boy changes plea to guilty

Monday, October 30, 2006 9:50 AM PST

Andy Gates | Argus Observer

VALE

The father charged with criminally mistreating his slain son changed his plea from not guilty to guilty Thursday in Malheur County Circuit Court.

Roberto Marin Ruiz, 26, was indicted July 7 on the felony charge that he criminally mistreated his 3-year-old son, Roberto Lee Ruiz.

The boy died this summer in a homicidal manner from blunt force trauma to the head and battered child syndrome, according to records filed in Malheur County Circuit Court.


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Ruiz's wife, and the child's step-mother, Marisol Sedano-Ruiz, 19, is scheduled to plea today and is charged with murder and two counts of criminal mistreatment, court records show.

Ruiz pleaded not guilty to the alleged crime of criminal mistreatment Oct. 12.

However, he changed his plea Thursday to guilty, and he is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 21 at 8 a.m., court records show.

Defendants frequently change their pleas from not guilty to guilty, Malheur County District Attorney Dan Norris said.

Ruiz and Sedano-Ruiz brought the child to Holy Rosary Medical Center June 27, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, court records show.

The pair told officials that the boy had fallen off an ATV, court records show.

However, the state asserts Sedano-Ruiz is responsible for the child's death, court records show. Law enforcement officials allege Ruiz and Sedano-Ruiz withheld adequate physical care and medical attention from the boy between March 1 and June 27, according to court records.

Ruiz and Sedano-Ruiz are lodged at the Malheur County Jail.

Ruiz has an immigration hold, so he is being held without bond, Malheur County Undersheriff Brian Wolfe said.

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Comment Blog - Note: All Comments Subject To Approval

mike may wrote on Oct 28, 2009 12:47 AM:

" mike ivester is a childhood freind of mine. he had a great sense of humor and an open mind when i knew him. he also had a knack for getting into mischief in an effort to feel a sense of adventure, maybe to escape his small town fueled depression and identity crisis... juvenile incarceration shaped his prejudice, and now we've created a monster who we all want to deny. congradulations Oregon! now you have to feed and clothe your dirty little secret for at least half a century. love you mike "

bones wrote on May 16, 2009 9:40 PM:

" Until you work in a prison the general public have no basic knowledge of what fuels a prison. Gangs control everything, except other gangs. The prison politics among the gangs are to out of touch for the public to understand, who does what and why. You can believe that %99 of all sex offenders are getting extorted for money or canteen items by these gangs.
The Aryan Soldiers are a very dangerous group, but a VERY small group.
And yes, there are inmates that just want to do there time and move on. They are not affiliated or extorting anyone, just doing there own time and maintaining clear conduct. "

Angela wrote on Sep 29, 2008 9:06 AM:

" Hey Watonga,
Since you sound a little ignorant I will let you in on a little secret, not everyone in there is a murderer or rapist! There are inmates in there who are not violent and just want to do their time quietly and not be affiliated with any "Gangs" while incarcerated. So I suggest you pull your head out of the sand and stop putting everyone who is incarcerated in the "scum bag" category! educate yourself a little bit next time you make a posting, otherwise you just look silly. "

Watonga wrote on May 30, 2008 1:53 PM:

" hehe you know whats funny....These inmates constantly hurt or kill other p[eople for no reason...and people like you feel sorry for them. I hope that you continue to feel sorry for them, especially the one who may rape and or kill your daughter, or any other family member you may have. Just continue to feel sorry for them, afterall they dont know what they are doing. "

CMS wrote on May 3, 2008 7:53 PM:

" Obviously the individual who wrote the first blog (KLL) is in my opinion worse than any homeless person walking the face of this planet. I feel sorry for a person like you. Its clear by your lack of sensitivity for human life that you should step back and take a good look on who really is the scumbag! "

KLL wrote on Apr 13, 2008 5:51 AM:

" No big loss, two less scum bags on this planet. "

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