Supreme Court

NYC Baby Sitter Who ‘Systematically' Tortured 17-Month-Old Boy to Death Learns Prison Fate

Injuries covered all of the boy's body with the exception of his feet, prosecutors said

What to Know

  • The babysitter tortured the 17-month-old boy over a three-day period, slamming his head to the ground and sexually abusing him
  • When he was returned to his mother, injuries covered all of the boy's body with the exception of his feet, prosecutors said
  • Gloria Fields pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree murder and was sentenced Tuesday to 23 years to life in prison

A 32-year-old woman has been sentenced to 23 years to life in prison for "systematically" torturing and killing a 17-month-old Staten Island boy she had been baby sitting two years ago, prosecutors said Tuesday. 

Gloria Fields, who had initially pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the February 2016 death of Anthony Delgado, changed that plea to guilty in Staten Island Supreme Court earlier this month. 

Authorities say the boy's mother left him with Fields, a neighbor, for the weekend starting Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. Two days later, Fields texted the boy's mother saying he fell. When she brought him home, he was bruised and unconscious. An autopsy showed he died of blunt force injuries. 

Prosecutors had said Fields systematically tortured little Delgado, slamming his head on the ground while he was strapped in a stroller, shaking him and sexually abusing him with a pencil -- so much so that he had lacerations to his anus and perforated internal organs. Injuries covered all of the boy's body with the exception of his feet, prosecutors said.

“This defendant deserves to spend the rest of her life in prison for the atrocious and sickening crimes she committed, and today’s sentence ensures just that,” said,” Staten Island District Attorney Michael E. McMahon said in a statement. “No family should ever have to experience the loss of a child in this way, and the entire DA’s office continues to send our thoughts and prayers to the family of the victim.”

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