Last member of Archuleta family sentenced in child abuse case

SAN ANTONIO – Before he sentenced Tim Archuleta to 20 years in prison in a shocking child abuse and starvation case, District Judge Ron Rangel told him that he “buried his head in the sand” while three children were being starved and abused.

Archuleta, his wife Illiana, and her brother-in-law, Rogelio Archuleta, adopted twin boys and a girl in 2012.

They all pleaded no contest to abuse and starvation charges. As part of plea deals, Illiana Archuleta was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Rogelio Archuleta was sentenced to 35 years.

On Friday, Rangel sentenced Tim Archuleta on charges of injury to a child serious bodily injury and starvation by omission.

Prior to sentencing, prosecutor Stephanie Boyd said that for the trio, the adoptions were not about caring for the children who had been born addicted, it was about money.

“They got $90,000 tax-free and blew it all on themselves,” Boyd said.

Shannon Brooks of Child Protective Services testified that the family received $90,960 for the time period that the children were in their care.

Archuleta’s attorney James Tocci asked the judge for mercy and probation.

“Should he have done more? Yeah, OK, I’ll give you that," he said. "But did he intend to starve those kids out? No.”

Before sentencing Archuleta, Rangel told him, “There seems to be a lot of indications that you were aware of what was going on. You were aware of the injuries and for whatever reason you chose to ignore them.”