Jury suggests 18 months for Fredericksburg man convicted of child abuse

March 24--A Fredericksburg jury Thursday recommended an 18-month prison sentence for a city man after determining that the man went too far in disciplining his 4-year-old son.

Leonides Dorestal Jr., 25, was convicted of two counts of felony child abuse and one count of child cruelty following a trial that started Tuesday in Fredericksburg Circuit Court. The jury acquitted Dorestal of a second child cruelty charge, and Judge Sarah Deneke dismissed two malicious wounding charges before the jury began deliberations.

Dorestal's bond was revoked following the convictions and he is being held in the Rappahannock Regional Jail. A formal sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 5.

According to the evidence presented by prosecutor David Sands, the abuse took place in September and October of 2016. The boy was beaten with a belt and thrown down several times for offenses that included wetting the bed and hitting his sister with a stick.

Sands said the abuse came to the attention of authorities in October 2016 after the boy went to a routine medical appointment and numerous bruises were detected. Sands told jurors that the boy had 36 different injuries on his tiny body and was suffering from petechiae, spots on the skins caused by broken blood vessels.

Defense attorney Julia Dillon argued that Dorestal is a loving parent who was simply trying to discipline his son. She said there were other adults in the home who could have contributed to the marks found on the child, and she said Detective Carlos Reyes coerced Dorestal into saying things the detective wanted him to say.

Sands countered that Dorestal got frustrated and lost control. "No 4-year-old child needs to be disciplined that harshly because he couldn't hold it in any longer," Sands said.

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