A man convicted of killing his girlfriend’s one-year-old child will avoid prison time after prosecutors noted issues with evidence that could have resulted in a not-guilty verdict.
In 2024, a Clark County grand jury voted to indict Christian Rabino, 29, on first-degree murder and child abuse for the death of Kai Tesoro, who was 17 months old at the time of his death. Police identified Rabino as Kai’s mother’s boyfriend.
Last November, Rabino entered an Alford plea to a charge of voluntary manslaughter, records said. Through an Alford plea, a defendant acknowledges prosecutors may have enough evidence to lead a jury to convict them, but at no time do they admit guilt.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to a sentence of probation. The voluntary manslaughter charge itself carries a sentence of 1-10 years, documents said, but the plea deal negated any prison time.
In court Tuesday, Clark County District Court Judge Jacqueline Bluth, a former prosecutor who worked on child homicides, noted prosecutors’ issues heading toward trial and her disappointment with the terms of the deal.
“The state believed it had some evidentiary issues if we had gone to trial,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Dena Rinetti said in court. “In these cases, typically there are no eyewitnesses, and so you’re relying upon caregivers to give the most accurate information.”
Rinetti highlighted potential issues at trial, including concerns about witness statements to police and unexplained older injuries discovered during autopsy.
“This was a rare negotiation for me as well in this type of case,” Rinetti said. “I take these cases very, very seriously, but I also have to live with the facts of the case and what I can prove at trial.”
Hellbound and Down 