A couple living in Boulevard have been sentenced to 25 years in state prison for the horrendous abuse of a 7-year-old girl.

Devin Hughes, 39, and his girlfriend, Kayla Reynolds, 32, repeatedly abused the girl, Hughes niece. San Diego County District Attorney  Summer Stephan said, " The level of abuse inflicted on this 7-year-old girl is abhorrent and heartbreaking." The little girl escaped the abusers when she ran to a neighbors home asking for help. When Sheriff's Deputies arrived, they observed the girl, who was malnourished and covered in visible injuries. She told investigators that her uncle had tied her hands behind her back with zip ties, then tripped her causing a large black eye. She said the defendants would cut her hair with a pocketknife, burn her with a vape pen, starve her and force her to drink dirty toilet water. In addition, she was forced to hold her urine to the point of wetting herself and then be forced to clean it up using her tongue. She was forced to sleep on the floor and was often chained to a treadmill. During the victims stay at Rady Children's Hospital, she gained five pounds and was eventually place with a family member where she is said t be thriving.