Clovis mother sentenced to 16 1/2 years

A Clovis mother was sentenced Tuesday afternoon to 16 1/2 years in prison for multiple counts of child abuse.

District Judge Drew Tatum delivered the sentence to Kayla Bass, 25, for abusing her then-18-month-old son in 2013 — he suffered bruises all over his body, bite marks, cigarette burns and a broken clavicle bone — after hearing tearful testimonies from her family, pleading for a lesser sentence.

The child has since been adopted, officials said.

Bass entered an Alford plea, which means she accepted the ramifications of pleading guilty but did not admit to the crime.

link Staff photo: Tony Bullocks

Kayla Bass appears before Judge Drew Tatum with her attorney, Jon Miller of Albuquerque. Bass was sentenced to 16 1/2 years for child abuse incidents from 2013.

Her attorney, Jon Miller, has emphasized that she “didn’t plead guilty.”

Bass’ family alleged that Bass’ boyfriend was to blame.

Her mother, Dana Powers, repeatedly told Tatum that her daughter “is not the evil person she’s being portrayed to be.”

“She was a loving mother who made a terrible choice,” Powers said. “She let a monster into her home and used drugs he provided ... He immediately began to isolate her and became angry if I came to their house. In three short weeks she was victimized by this monster that never should have been walking free.”

Prosecutors did not charge the boyfriend in connection with the case.

Powers also cited a “traumatic brain injury” that Bass sustained in a car wreck when she was 18 months old that caused her to stop mentally developing in her early teenage years.

“That’s as far as her brain will progress,” Powers said, pausing to control her sobs. “She has a unique ability to empathize with people and take away their pain. She was unable to feel her own son’s pain because she was under the influence of drugs and manipulated by a monster.”

According to her grandfather, Roger Gerano, Bass does deserve punishment for her “very bad choices,” which was evident to her family when they went to clean out her home before turning it back over to a landlord.

“When we went to clean the house ... we went in the basement and found drugs, alcohol and a weapon. We turned it over to Clovis Police Department,” Gerano said.

But Gerano said after the sentencing hearing that police did not do a thorough investigation regarding other suspects.

Tatum and Reeb were in agreement that Bass did nothing to stop the abuse — and that in itself, Reeb said, deserves punishment.

“I’m not here to say that (Bass’ boyfriend) is a good citizen; he’s had his problems with the law and he’s been in trouble,” Reeb said as she began her closing argument. “The family feels he should be prosecuted, but there was never any indication for a year that he was involved in this at all ... Whether she did it or failed to take care of her son, it’s still punishable for the same amount under the law.”

Miller said his client needed to be punished, “but it shouldn’t be a life sentence ... I see a lot of love in this family.”

After a five-minute recess, Tatum came out of his chambers to deliver his decision.

“I think it goes without being said that the pictures are horrific, absolutely horrific, that a 17-month old boy had to go through something like this,” Tatum began.

“There is, in my opinion, no greater responsibility than bringing a child into this world and protecting that child. You brought (your son) into this world, you had responsibility of protecting him. It appears to me that the danger came from within. True malice resides in Ms. Bass.

“The damage done to (her son) couldn’t be stopped until it was brought to the attention of his grandmother. One thing I can do is make sure (she) doesn’t inflict any harm to other children.”