A San Diego babysitter broke down in tears in court as she was sentenced to 100 years to life in prison for delivering little girls to her pedophile boyfriend to molest.
Brittney Mae Lyon, 31, advertised her babysitting services online – with a particular interest in working with special needs children – and earned the trust of parents who left their kids in her care.
But, in reality, she was sexually abusing the little girls and providing them to her boyfriend Samuel Cabrera, 31, who would film himself molesting them.
The victims were aged between three and seven years old and some were autistic and non-verbal.
Lyon pleaded guilty to two counts of a lewd act upon a child and two counts of a forcible lewd act upon a child in May.
She also admitted additional allegations of kidnapping, residential burglary and sexually assaulting multiple victims.
The sick abuse came to light in 2016 when a seven-year-old girl told her mother she didn’t want to go anywhere with Lyon – a long-term friend of the family who also babysat her – anymore.
The little girl then told her mom about the abuse who went to the police, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Brittney Mae Lyon, 31, sobbed in court as she was sentenced to 100 years to life in prison for delivering little girls to her pedophile boyfriend to molest
An investigation led Carlsbad police to Cabrera, then 22, and both he and Lyon were arrested.
A search of Cabrera’s car uncovered a double-locked box containing six computer hard drives with hundreds of videos of him abusing victims.
Some of the victims in the videos were drugged and the clips were often filmed with multiple cameras to capture different angles, prosecutors said.
The horrifying tapes featured multiple unknown victims, prompting an investigation to track down other families who had hired Lyon as a babysitter.
Parents of three of the victims had met Lyon through a babysitting website where she had ‘touted her interest in working with special needs children,’ according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
One mother saw a news story about Lyon and Cabrera’s awful crimes and reached out to police, only to learn that her own three-year-old was among the victims filmed being abused by the twisted couple.
Another victim was a developmentally-delayed seven-year-old with autism, who could not dress or bathe herself or speak.
Lyon and Cabrera met in high school and he initially convinced her to secretly record women getting changed in dressing rooms and gym locker rooms, prosecutors said.
Brittney Mae Lyon pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd act upon a child and two counts of a forcible lewd act upon a child in May
Lyon brought the little girls she babysat to her boyfriend, Samuel Cabrera (pictured),so he could molest them
Then, the pedophile asked Lyon to bring children in her care to his home – where she participated in some of the abuse, according to prosecutors.
Cabrera went on trial in 2019 charged with 35 felonies, including multiple counts involving child molestation, kidnapping, burglary and conspiracy.
It took a North County jury just two hours to convict him on all charges.
He was sentenced to eight terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole and 300 additional years.
Lyon’s case was stalled by Covid courtroom closures and by changes of attorneys.
She has been represented by three different defense attorneys over the past nine years: a public defender, then private counsel and then another public defender.
At her sentencing inside the Vista Courthouse in San Diego Thursday, the babysitter’s defense attorney read a statement on her behalf.
‘For nine years, I’ve thought about what I would say today. I’ve come to the conclusion that there are no words that would make any of the harm and trauma I’ve caused any better,’ the statement read.
Lyon is pictured in court with her defense team. The couple’s victims were aged between three and seven years old and some were autistic and non-verbal
Lyon advertised her childcare services on babysitting websites and touted her interest in working with special needs children (pictured: Lyon’s babysitting ads)
‘The words “I’m sorry” are far too simple for the amount of trauma I’ve caused and the amount of regret that I feel.’
Parents of the victims also spoke in court on Thursday.
One mother said Lyon ‘used her credentials’ – such as studying child development – ‘to lull us into a state of comfort so we didn’t feel like we had to ask a lot of questions about what Brittany did with our daughter when they were together’.
What the mother thought was a special trip for their daughter to play places she later learned were ‘molestation sessions,’ she said.
Cabrera is not eligible for parole, but Lyon – who was sentenced to 100 years to life – is.
This means it is possible she could be released after serving just a third of her sentence.
Some of the victims’ parents slammed the possibility that she could be freed in future.
Cabrera is not eligible for parole, but Lyon (pictured in court) – who was sentenced to 100 years to life – is
There is a possibility that Lyon could be released after serving just a third of her sentence
‘It’s a slap in the face to drag us through this field of broken glass for 10 years only to give Brittney a break,’ one mother said.
A California law change now allows for ‘elder parole,’ where inmates who have served at least 20 years of their sentence can petition for a parole hearing when they turn 50.
While legislative efforts to exclude sex offenders from this rule have stalled, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office has continued to push for the change.
‘The age of 50 is hardly “elderly,” particularly in the realm of child molesters, who need only be in a position of trust and power to access and sexually abuse children,’ District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a news release in reference to Lyon’s sentencing.
