SAN ANTONIO – The father of Josiah Williams, who was 5 years old when he died of starvation in 2012, tearfully apologized to his family before he was sentenced Friday.
“I’m sorry,” Williams sobbed. “I wasn’t the father I was supposed to be.”
Williams pleaded no contest to charges of injury to a child - serious bodily injury by omission.
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His son, Josiah, died two days after Christmas in 2012 while living with Williams, his wife Crystal Williams, and her mother, Gloria Proo. Crystal Williams was the child’s stepmother.
Prosecutors say Josiah was locked in a small room for six months, beaten frequently and denied food.
After complying with the plea agreement that called for a maximum 40-year prison term, District Judge Ron Rangel addressed Williams.
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“It’s pretty clear that you made a prolonged choice to ignore the situation you were in,” Rangel said. “You’re fortunate to have gotten the plea bargain that you did.”
Williams would have faced a maximum sentence of life in prison had the case been tried.
Following sentencing, the child’s aunt, Clarissa Baeza, addressed Williams in a victim impact statement.
“I’m not happy, nor am I satisfied with the outcome,“ she said. “Not even torture or death would be justice. Your justice will be when you burn with the other two.”
Crystal Willliams and her mother, Gloria Proo, were sentenced to 99 years and 88 years in prison, respectively, in previous trials.