'Epitome of evil stepmother' in Queens gets 15 years in prison for beating, starving 12-year-old.
A Queens woman who beat and starved her 12-year-old stepdaughter until she weighed just 58 pounds will spend 15 years in prison, officials said Friday.
Sheetal Ranot, 35, of Ozone Park, was sentenced to the long prison term for abusing the child over a horrifying two-year period starting in 2012.
A Queens jury in July convicted Ranot of beating the girl numerous times with broom handles and a rolling pin, as well as locking her inside her bedroom without food for long periods, officials said.
On one occasion, Ranot beat the girl so badly with a broken metal broom handle that her wrist was sliced to the bone, leaving her in the hospital for weeks. The girl is currently living with her biological mother, according to authorities.
On another occasion, Ranot kicked the girl in the face, and on a third, slammed her in the face with a rolling pin.
“The defendant was the epitome of an evil stepmother,” Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. “Not only did she refuse to provide basic nourishment for the child, but the defendant also wantonly beat and abused the girl inflicting pain still evident by the scars that mark her body today.”
After Ranot hit the girl with the broom handle on May 6, 2014, paramedics arrived at the house and found her lying in a pool of blood with the tendons of her left wrist exposed.
She was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where she underwent surgery on her wrist and one knee. Her body was covered with older bruises, marks and scars.
Rajesh Ranot, the victim's biological father, is still facing trial on charges of assault, unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child.