A Harlem man convicted of beating his girlfriend’s 10-year-old child to death has been sentenced to 25 years to life behind bars, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced on Friday.
Ryan Cato, 38, had been previously convicted on March 6 of second-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child.
Prosecutors said the cold-hearted killer began torturing little Ayden Wolfe in January 2021, shortly after he began living with the child’s mother at a West 131st Street residence in Harlem. At one point during the relentless abuse, the convicted murderer made the child hold weights over his head while he repeatedly punched the boy, according to court documents.
Cato filmed the abuse and then sent the footage to his friends, the district attorney’s office said.
Throughout the abuse, Ayden was attending school remotely, going for long stretches without in-person interactions with teachers, counselors, or school nurses, the DA’s office said.
The torture escalated on March 5, 2021, when neighbors heard loud bangs from inside the apartment. Cato was also heard threatening his girlfriend when she yelled at him to stop, officials said.
The noises, followed by “thuds,” continued through the next day. Several hours later, Ayden’s mother called 911 and Cato took the phone from her.
When first responders arrived, they found the 10-year-old child lying naked on the floor, without a pulse, according to court documents.
Police immediately did CPR and attempted to revive the child, whose body was covered in visible bruises. EMS arrived and rushed to Harlem Hospital where doctors and nurses tried, but could not, save his life. Ayden was pronounced dead at 4:20 p.m.
“Isolated from teachers and other responsible adults because of the pandemic, 10-year-old Ayden Wolfe was enduring horrific violence at the hands of his mother’s boyfriend,” Bragg said. “Ryan Cato brutally abused him, eventually killing Ayden in his own apartment,” said Bragg. “While today’s sentencing will not bring back this innocent child, I hope it gives his loved ones a sense of comfort and closure in this abhorrent crime.”
The Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the cause of death to be battered child syndrome. Ayden had bruises across his body, broken ribs, a lacerated spleen, a lacerated liver, a lacerated kidney, and a lacerated renal vein, which resulted in hemorrhaging to the soft tissue.
According to the New York Post, the boy’s mother, Aquisha Johnson, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
