7-Year-Old Girl Found Covered in Bruises, Scars and Burns After Escaping California Home and Asking Neighbour for Help

A seven-year-old girl escaped a mobile home in Boulevard, California, in July 2025 and ran to a neighbour for help, arriving covered in bruises, scars, burn marks and with a black eye after what authorities described as severe abuse in the care of her uncle, Devin Hughes, and his girlfriend, Kayla Reynolds.

The girl asked the neighbour whether she could live with him because she was being beaten and abused. The neighbour contacted authorities, leading sheriff's deputies to the property and, eventually, to the arrest and prosecution of Hughes, 39, and Reynolds, 32.

7-Year-Old Girl Described Abuse Inside Boulevard Home

According to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office, the child was malnourished and had visible injuries when deputies met her. She told investigators that Hughes had tied her hands behind her back with a zip tie before tripping her, causing the black eye.

Deputies reported that the injuries extended beyond her eye. Prosecutors said the girl's body was covered with bruises, scars and burn marks when she reached the neighbour's home, while officers who later saw her described her as malnourished. The neighbour immediately notified authorities after hearing her account.

The girl also described repeated mistreatment inside the home. 'She said the defendants would cut her hair with a pocketknife, burn her with vape pens, starve her and force her to drink dirty toilet water,' the District Attorney's Office said.

She further told deputies that she had been forced to hold her urine until she wet herself and was then made to clean it with her tongue. She said she slept on the floor and was often chained to a treadmill using a cable lock.

The account given by the child was later supported by evidence found during a search of the residence, prosecutors said.

Investigators reported finding zip ties, cable locks and vape pens, along with what the District Attorney's Office described as horrendous living conditions. Those items were cited by prosecutors as corroborating parts of the girl's account to deputies.

7-Year-Old Girl's Escape Led to Felony Case

Hughes is the girl's biological uncle, and prosecutors said she was in the care of Hughes and Reynolds when the abuse occurred. Prosecutors said three other children were also in the home.

Both defendants were arrested and later prosecuted on multiple felony counts. In March 2026, they pleaded guilty to 15 felony counts, including torture, child abuse, corporal injury, mayhem and assault likely to cause great bodily injury. Prosecutors said the abuse involved starvation tactics, burnings and forced drug use.

On 11 September 2026, Hughes and Reynolds were each sentenced to 25 years in prison for the repeated abuse of the child.

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said the case involved conduct that had caused serious harm to a seven-year-old.

'The level of abuse inflicted on this 7-year-old child is abhorrent and heartbreaking,' Stephan said in a statement announcing the sentences.

She also credited the prosecution team, sheriff's deputies and detectives, and medical staff at Rady Children's Hospital with helping restore the child's health and safety.

7-Year-Old Girl Gained Weight After Hospital Treatment

After her escape, the girl was treated at Rady Children's Hospital. Prosecutors said she gained five pounds during her hospital stay after deputies had initially found her malnourished.

The District Attorney's Office said she was later placed with another family member and was thriving in her new environment. Stephan said the girl now had 'a chance to blossom' away from the abuse described in the case.

Deputy District Attorney Seralyn Fields prosecuted the case. The sentencing came more than a year after the child escaped the Boulevard home and sought help from a neighbour, prompting the investigation that ultimately led to Hughes and Reynolds pleading guilty to 15 felony counts.