Couple Accused Of Beating Child Until Nearly 'Knocked Out' Pleads Not Guilty

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA – A married couple from San Mateo pleaded not guilty to charges of felony child endangerment in San Mateo County Superior Court on Tuesday, according to prosecutors.

Juan Manuel Hernandez, 32, and Bianca Noemi Medina, 25, were arrested at their apartment in the 400 block of North San Mateo Drive on Thursday after a neighbor reported hearing one of them say that the other had "hit him too hard" and "almost knocked him out," prosecutors said.

Arriving officers found three children, including a 5-year-old boy with a lump on his head and a cut on his face. Investigators believe the children were beaten with a belt.

Police said the children were not being properly fed. There was no edible food and no running water, plus the children were living in squalor with a noticeable scent of urine and rotting food.

Child Protective Services took custody of the children, according to prosecutors.

Hernandez and Medina are scheduled to return to court Sept. 5 for a preliminary hearing. Meanwhile, they're being held on $150,000 bail.

Francoise Espinoza, a defense attorney appointed to represent Hernandez through San Mateo County's Private Defender Program, could not immediately be reached for comment.

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