SAN ANTONIO \u2013 A San Antonio woman who critically injured a 15-month-old girl in her care was ordered to begin serving a 20-year prison sentence immediately on Monday, after a judge denied her motion to further delay sentencing. <\/p>\n
Marissa Salas, 23, was handcuffed and taken from the courtroom by a bailiff as her supporters sobbed in the gallery of 437th District Court. <\/p>\n
Her attorneys asked Judge Joel Perez to delay sentencing another two months, as an ongoing custody fight over her 6-week-old son plays out in civil court<\/a>.<\/p>\n KSAT Investigates<\/p>\n Hard-hitting journalism from the KSAT Investigates team delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n \u201cThe custody battle over there: honestly, I don\u2019t have a dog in that fight,\u201d Perez said in court on Monday. \u201cYou\u2019re here to answer for the injuries that the child in this case incurred.\u201d <\/p>\n Civil court judge had Salas\u2019 4-day-old son kept at courthouse following custody hearing<\/p>\n Last month, a civil court judge had the then-4-day-old baby taken from Salas and kept at the Bexar County Courthouse until he could be handed over to Child Protective Services.<\/p>\n The Oct. 7 order from Judge Mary Lou Alvarez caused significant backlash<\/a>, as the decision was made before CPS or the Bexar County District Attorney\u2019s Office was involved in the case.<\/p>\n Alvarez confirmed the father\u2019s paternity but ruled him and Salas unfit to care for the child, the judge\u2019s handwritten docket notes show.<\/p>\n Alvarez\u2019s docket notes indicate the father had tested positive for THC and Salas was set to be sentenced in the unrelated felony child abuse case.<\/p>\n The judge\u2019s decision prompted a scathing rebuke from the DA\u2019s office days later in a letter sent to CPS.<\/p>\n The letter, written by Bexar County DA Civil Division Chief Larry Roberson, sought an administrative review of Alvarez\u2019s \u201cextraordinary actions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe court, in the absence of any petition filed by this Office, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, or any other governmental entity, unilaterally determined that the biological parents were unfit and that the four-day old infant was in imminent danger of harm,\u201d Roberson wrote. \u201cWhile this Office recognizes the Court\u2019s inherent authority to take emergency action under appropriate circumstances in exigent instances to protect an infant from imminent danger, the facts of this matter could raise substantial due-process, statutory, and constitutional concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n Legal experts who spoke to KSAT about Alvarez\u2019s decision were torn on whether the judge acted appropriately.<\/p>\n Meredith Chacon, a former supervisor of the DA\u2019s child abuse and neglect section, called Alvarez\u2019s order unusual but not unprecedented in Bexar County.<\/p>\n \u201cA district court judge has heard something that raises to a level of concern. I do believe she has the authority to demand that the department (CPS) come and look into it, to demand that they take custody at that moment, perhaps,\u201d Chacon said. \u201cIf she had sent the baby home and something had happened, what would we be sitting here saying?\u201d<\/p>\n In June 2022<\/a>, Bexar County Sheriff\u2019s deputies found a 15-month-old girl in Salas\u2019 care with severe injuries, which included burn marks, a fractured skull and a brain bleed.<\/p>\n