CALDWELL - A Nampa woman, convicted of abusing her 9-year-old son will spend the next two years in prison, officials announced on Wednesday.
Rosalinda M. Salazar, 35, was sentenced to two years fixed, followed by three years indeterminate.
According to the Canyon County Prosecutor's Office, Salazar was arrested in December after an investigation by Nampa police revealed she had physically abused her 9-year-old son after becoming upset at him for playing outside while he was grounded.
Detectives allege Salazar beat the boy with a wooden spoon until it broke, spanked him numerous times, and slapped his face before eventually grabbing him by the throat and lifting him off the ground until he lost consciousness.
Salazar then threw the child to the ground causing him to hit his head on a chair, officials said. According to the prosecutor's office, the boy later told detectives and medical staff that it hurt to swallow and described seeing stars and being dizzy, as well as hearing a buzzing sound when he was being strangled.
Prosecutors say the attack was witnessed by four of the boy's siblings, who all reported seeing various forms of abuse, including the strangulation. All of the children reported abuse at the hands of their mother spanning years, officials said.
“Something that really stands out is how close your little boy was to dying," Judge Thomas Whitney said during the sentencing hearing. "It doesn't matter if you picked him up or pushed him, either way the child was close to death."
The judge also recommended Salazar take part in a rider program which would provide anger management treatment.
"I believe you were in a rage when you strangled that child," Whitney said to Salazar. "I don't believe that is the kind of treatment that happens over days or months. I think a rider is appropriate."