Brazilian Girl Beaten to Death by Stepfather for Wetting Bed; Teen Mom Also Charged

A three-year-old Brazilian girl was beaten to death by her stepfather after she had wet the bed.

According to Daily Star, the girl's stepfather, Christopher Anthony Tavares Coelho, 27, and her mom, Leticia Lopes Fonseca, 19, have been sentenced to a total of 61 years in prison after the horrific incident that happened in Pocos de Caldas, Brazil.

The couple was found guilty of homicide by a jury after 17 long hours of deliberation on March 5.

Death of the Brazilian Girl

According to Daily Star, three-year-old Ana Livia Lopes da Silva was subjected to violent beatings by her stepfather for wetting the bed in June 2018. The last violent beating killed the Brazilian girl after it caused her to have a seizure and a nosebleed.

Doctors were unable to save her because, according to The Sun, she was only brought by her mother to the hospital the next day, when her grandmother and aunt found the child unconscious and with difficulty breathing. The Brazilian girl also had bruises on her body.

Reports said the day after the beating, Ana, who spent the day with her mother, already complained of pain. However, her mother did not provide her with any help. Ana's grandmother and aunt are the family's neighbors.

According to the prosecutors, Ana arrived in the hospital in a serious condition, "with craniocerebral hemorrhage and broken ribs." After the Brazilian girl died, her stepfather and mother were swiftly arrested.

The 27-year-old stepfather was sentenced to 32 years, one month, and 20 days in prison for homicide, while Ana's mother was sentenced to 29 years, two months, and 23 days in prison for the same charge for failing to help her daughter after the beating.

Child Abuse in Brazil

Children are among the victims of injustices in Latin America and Brazil. Citing the 2018 report by the NGO Fundación Abrinq titled "Scenario of Childhood and Adolescence in Brazil," Humanium noted that more than 40 percent of Brazilian children live in poverty.

Poverty along with family violence accompany these alarming numbers, leaving Brazilian kids vulnerable to crime. Apart from killings and other crimes, children in Brazil are also subjected to child sexual abuse, which affects the children's development and upbringing.

A study published in Acta Psychopathological entitled "Family Violence Against Children and Adolescents in Brazil and Relation with Identity Development," said intrafamilial violence against children and adolescents comes from the interaction of socio-economic, cultural, and psychological factors of the people involved.

Aside from the crimes the children in Brazil experience, Humanium noted that the education sector has also been facing a problem catering to children and young adults.

The report said about 70 percent of Brazilian children, ages three years old and below, do not have access to public and private daycare centers.

On the other hand, around 1.6 million students between 15 to 17 years old dropped out of school, although the organization did not mention the reasons.

WATCH: What Are Child Abuse and Neglect? - From Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)