30 Years for Pervert 'Prophet' Pediatrician Convicted of Sex Abusing Young Patients | Crime Alert 6AM 12.19.25

Ernesto Cesar Torres, 74,  sentenced for sexually abusing an 11-year-old patient and prosecutors say dozens more victims have come forward. A jury reached a partial verdict in connection with Maya Hernandez, a California mother who left her son inside a hot car while she visited a Bakersfield spa. Sydney Sumner reports.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alart hourly update breaking crime news. Now a former
Maryland pediatrician who claimed demonic entities made his victims lie
about sex abuse. Now he's sentenced. One recent eleven year
old victim reports to her mom seventy four year old
Ernesto Cesar Tortis molested her during a pediatric exam. Authorities

(00:24):
then find at least twenty four victims, all very young
female patients from Tortoise medical practice.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
I'm Sidney Sumner. Judge William Nicholas sentenced seventy four year
old Torres of Friedrich, Maryland, to thirty years for sexual
abuse of a minor in three counts of third degree
sex offense. On May seventh, twenty nineteen, Friedrich police received
a call from the mother of an eleven year old
victim to report that her child had been sexually abused
by Torres during a pediatric exam in his office. The

(00:54):
mother told police she brought her child to Torres to
treat a mild skin condition, but that her child's said
Torres made her uncomfortable by placing his hand down her
pants and touching her down there. In addition, the child
described Torres rubbing her stomach repeatedly and kissing her. FPD
contacted Child Protective Services and the Child Advocacy Center, who
conducted a forensic interview with the victim. Torres was subsequently

(01:18):
arrested at his medical practice. After the initial allegation. A
judge allowed the pediatrician to continue seeing patients, but he
later agreed to stop practicing medicine as part of the
terms of his bail. As the investigation continued, detectives identified
twenty four victims, all young female patients, who saw Torres
between nineteen eighty and twenty eighteen.

Speaker 3 (01:39):
Some of the parents said that they thought that he
was doing an abdominal survey. Meanwhile he had his hand
down her pants and what was commanding a sex offense
right in front of the mother.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
State's attorney, Charlie Smith, initially charged Torres with ninety seven
criminal counts of sexually abusing dozens of his juvenile patients,
but the court ordered the indictment beside by victim. Trial
proceeded on count twenty four sexual abuse of a minor
and counts twenty five, twenty six, and twenty seven sexual
offense in the third degree, representing three years of sexual

(02:12):
abuse on mh from age nine to eleven. At sentencing,
the doctor claimed he was a prophet in a previous
life and demonic entities are possessing the victims, making them
lie about experiencing abuse at his hands.

Speaker 3 (02:26):
He blamed the victims. He did not take responsibility for
his actions, which I thought was just egregious. I mean
he already traumatized them bi sexually molesting. To traumatize this
young girl again by saying she's possessed by demons.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Mh told the court, I now can't trust male authority.
My childhood was taken away from me. Upon release, Torres
will serve five years of probation in lifetime sex offender
supervision on the registry, but prosecutors say they aren't done
yet and hope Torres will spend the rest of his
life behind bars.

Speaker 3 (02:55):
We're looking forward to prosecuting the other cases, getting consecutive sentences,
so that the number of years that he has to
serve are going to be far longer than the number
of days he has on this earth.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
In California, a jury deadlocked on a verdict for a
mother who left her children in a hot car while
she received lip filler. Maya Hernandez's older son survived, but
his baby brother, Emilio did not. A current County jury
convicted Hernandez on two counts of child endangerment Thursday. They
deadlocked on second degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. The jurors

(03:28):
questioned implied malice in connection with the murder charge. Under
California Penal Code one eight eight, implied malice means the
deliberate intention to unlawfully take away a life. Twenty year
old Maya Hernandez is accused of leaving her two children,
ages one and two, strapped inside car seats inside her
vehicle as she visited the Always Beautiful Medspa in Bakersfield

(03:50):
on June twenty ninth for a lip injection procedure. At
around four point thirty pm, Hernandez allegedly returned to her car,
a twenty twenty two Toyota Corolla Hybrid, and discovered one
year old Amelio Gutierras in distress and foaming at the mouth.
A customer took his two year old brother into a
restroom and poured water on his face while first responders arrived.

(04:11):
Although the two year old survived the incident, Amelia was
pronounced dead after failed resuscitation attempts. Their grandmother, Katie Martinez,
is devastated by the loss in Hernando's's actions.

Speaker 4 (04:21):
I couldn't stop screaming. I just kept picturing them alone.
They were strapped in their car seats. They couldn't even
get up to save themselves. She literally locked them in
their car seats and shut the doors. I can't even
imagine what they went through.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
Hernandez told police that she left the children inside the
vehicle with the air conditioner on, while an employee reportedly
said the children could have stayed in the waiting room
during the procedure. The employee said when booking the appointment,
Hernandez asked if she could bring her children with her,
to which she replied that wouldn't be a problem and
they could stay in the waiting room during her procedure.
A nurse at the sp said that Hernandez made no

(05:01):
mention of the children being with her when she arrived.
A bystander who grabbed the two year old from the
car said that the AC was not turned on. The
vehicle's manufacturer indicated that the air conditioner automatically turns off
after an hour of inactivity. According to what an expert
told Bakersfield Police the lit procedure typically takes around fifteen
to twenty minutes. The police said Hernandez left the children

(05:24):
in the car for over two hours since the day
in question at the SPA had been unusually busy.

Speaker 4 (05:30):
She just stood there with her lips done. That's what
she gave his life for, was to have that look
on her.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
The judge ruled that since the jury deadlocked on the
murder charge, a mistrial would be declared for both murder
and manslaughter. A status hearing has been set for January twelfth.
During the hearing, it will be decided whether Hernandez will
be retried for murder and manslaughter. For the latest crime
and justice breaking news, be sure to follow the Crime
Alert hourly update on her favorite podcast app with this

(05:58):
crime Alert I'm Sydney some Earth