A Brooklyn mother who avoided jail time after she left her daughter home alone to die in a house fire while she was out stripping could face up to four years in prison for violating her plea deal.
Leila Aquino, 20, pleaded guilty to charges of criminally negligent homicide in October in exchange for serving three years probation and completion of a Women’s Prison Association program.
She broke one of the key terms of her deal to stay out of trouble when she allegedly mauled another woman in Brownsville by punching her with a knife sharpener March 5, the New York Post reported.
Aquino was booked on charges of assault, menacing, and criminal possession of a weapon and released on $2,500 bail. She could face up to seven years in prison on those charges.
Aquino appeared before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Deborah Dowling Monday, who is reportedly waiting to see if she was indicted on the new charges before sentencing her for violating her probation, according to law enforcement sources.
Aquino could serve anywhere from 16 months to four years in prison for violating her plea.
Authorities had been investigating her for child neglect after she allegedly left her 2-year-old daughter, Kalenah Muldrow, home alone while she went to work as a stripper at CityScapes Gentlemen’s Club in Queens.
The Administration for Children’s Services received three complaints about Aquino, alleging that her apartment was in poor condition, she had been neglectful, and that she was working as a prostitute.
ACS could not find any evidence to support these accusations and did not pursue them.
Her daughter was killed in a fire that started after she left the child home alone once again while she went to work as a stripper. When police questioned Aquino, she told them that she had been unable to find a babysitter and that she had been out drinking with friends.
First responders found Muldrow’s remains under Aquino’s bed.
A Brooklyn grand jury will have until Sept. 29 to hand down an indictment.