Uncle Pleads Guilty to Child Endangerment : Courts: Edward Medina admits he did nothing to stop his wife in the alleged torture of their 10-year-old nephew. He seeks probation.

SANTA ANA —  An Orange man pleaded guilty Monday to charges he did nothing to stop his wife from allegedly searing their 10-year-old nephew with a red-hot butter knife and sodomizing the boy with a miniature baseball bat last year.

Edward Medina, 46, also admitted in Orange County Superior Court that he stood by as his wife, Cynthia Medina, 32, allegedly abused the nephew and the couple’s son during a yearlong period that ended with her arrest last September on child-torture charges.

Edward Medina could receive up to eight years and eight months in state prison when he is sentenced on June 9 on three counts of child endangerment. But Medina is seeking to be released on probation in order to rejoin his 9-year-old son, who is living with grandparents. Officials at the county Social Services Agency also want to reunite the boy with his father, who was not accused of hurting the children.

The child-torture trial of Cynthia Medina is to begin May 8.

Cynthia Medina, a former playground supervisor at an elementary school, is accused of abusing both boys over a one-year period, including an assault on the nephew last Sept. 7 that was so brutal he had to be hospitalized and temporarily fitted with a colostomy bag. That incident came as punishment after the boy touched an ashtray at the couple’s home, where he lived, authorities said. The nephew is now in a foster home.

The boys are expected to testify in the trial.

If convicted, Cynthia Medina faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Chuck Middleton, who oversees child abuse cases, said he would recommend that Edward Medina receive two years in prison.

“Our feeling in the case has been it’s worth going to state prison on because one child almost died,” Middleton said after the guilty plea.

But defense lawyer Marlin G. Stapleton Jr. said a prison sentence would mean his client would lose his job and be unable to support his son.

“It was clear from everything . . . that he regretted what happened,” Stapleton said.

Edward Medina has received counseling and is going to parenting classes, Stapleton said.

Duane T. Neary, an attorney assigned by the county to represent the two boys, said they are undergoing therapy and recovering well.

“I think they’re both doing as well as can be expected,” he said.

News of the child-torture allegations shocked county residents last fall, prompting an outpouring of support for the injured nephew.

A jury rejected Cynthia Medina’s claim in January that she was insane at the time of the Sept. 7 incident. One defense witness had testified that the defendant has multiple personalities. But two court-appointed psychiatrists who examined her said Medina was competent to stand trial.