Signal Hill mother pleads no contest to child abuse after death of her son, 2

The 25-year-old mother of two young sons, including a toddler who was allegedly murdered by her live-in boyfriend in Signal Hill, pleaded no contest today to a pair of felony child abuse counts.

Jessica Cereceres was immediately sentenced to five years and four months in state prison and ordered to stay away from her surviving child for 10 years, according to Sarah Ardalani of the Los Angeles County District Attoey’s Office.

Samuel Aguilar is awaiting trial on charges of murder and assault on a child causing death in the August 2014 death of Cereceres’ 2-year-old son, Josue.

Aguilar and Cereceres were charged last summer following a yearlong examination of reports and evidence involving injuries to her two children, according to the Los Angeles County District Attoey’s Office.

The 2-year-old was pronounced dead at a hospital after Signal Hill police responded to a call that the toddler was not breathing.

During the investigation, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department discovered that the woman’s year-old son also had injuries to his body, according to the prosecution.

Aguilar has been jailed since December 2014, when he was arrested for alleged witness intimidation/dissuasion.

Cereceres was arrested last August and has remained behind bars since then.