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A San Diego County babysitter who sexually assaulted young girls, including children with autism, has been sentenced to 100 years-to-life in prison for her role in a disturbing child abuse case.
Brittney Lyon, 31, had initially pleaded guilty in May, 2025 to multiple felony counts, including lewd acts upon a child and forcible lewd acts upon a child.
Disturbingly, she also arranged for her boyfriend, Samuel Cabrera, to abuse the victims, and at times she joined in the abuse herself.
According to police reports, Lyon met most of her victims online through a website called Care.com, which connects parents to caregivers.
She advertised her babysitting services there and specifically mentioned that she had experience with special needs children..
Three of the four victims—two 7-year-olds and two 3-year-olds—were connected to Lyon through the site.
Also, two of the girls had autism, and one was non-verbal, making them even more vulnerable.
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| Samuel Cabrera |
Court records revealed that after Lyon was hired as a babysitter, she gave her boyfriend, Cabrera, access to the victims, to sexually assault them.
She either took the victims to his home, let him into her home, or allowed him into the victims’ homes where she worked.
Lyon also sexually assaulted the children alone and sometimes, she bought illegal substances and drugged them before the abuse.
Brittney Lyon's crimes came to light in 2016 when one of the victims, a 7-year-old girl, spoke up.
She told her mother that she no longer wanted to be around Lyon, who was also a family friend, and had babysat her before.
The child’s report led police to Samuel Cabrera, and after an extensive investigation, they uncovered a horrific pattern of abuse.
After a brief chase, officers found a double-locked box in Cabrera’s car containing six hard drives with hundreds of videos showing Lyon and Cabrera sexually assaulting the children.
Some footage showed them drugging the victims and using extreme cruelty, as per New York Post.
Criminal investigators also discovered that Lyon had secretly recorded multiple women and girls in changing rooms at various stores and gyms across North County.
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| Brittney Lyon crying during her sentence |
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| Brittney Mae Lyon |
Samuel Cabrera, was convicted in 2019 and in 2021, he received eight life sentences without the possibility of parole.
On August 14, 2025, Brittney Lyon was sentenced to 100 years-to-life.
However, due to California’s elder parole laws, she could petition for release at age 50—meaning she might serve only 28 years of her total punishment.
San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan condemned the loophole, stating:
“The victims, their families, and the safety of all children in California need to be the priority, not Ms. Lyon and other violent child molesters like her. 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.”
DA Stephan is supporting Senate Bill 286 and Assembly Bill 47, which aim to exclude violent sex offenders from early parole.
However, both bills are currently stalled in committee, as per official reports.
State Senator Brian Jones, who authored SB 286, criticized the delay:
“Shamefully, a loophole in California law could allow Lyon to walk free after serving less than a third of her sentence. Senate Bill 286 would close that loophole and ensure violent child rapists serve their full sentences.”
While Lyon’s sentencing brings some closure, advocates argue that California’s parole laws must change to prevent predators from returning to society.
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