Justice Delivered: East Tampa (33605) Man Sentenced for Smothering 5-Year-Old While Her Father Worked Nearby – SENTENCING JUST IN

East Tampa (33605) – A heartbreaking case that stunned the Tampa Bay community reached its conclusion today, as a man who smothered a 5-year-old girl while her father worked just across the street was sentenced in Hillsborough County Court. The verdict delivers long-awaited closure for a grieving family and a shaken neighborhood still processing the unthinkable betrayal.

In a courtroom filled with tears and raw emotion, 29-year-old Dante Mallory learned his fate Friday afternoon after being convicted of first-degree murder in the 2022 death of Aliyah Rosario, a joyful 5-year-old girl who was under his care for less than two hours when he suffocated her in a Tampa apartment.

Key Facts

• BREAKING: Tampa man sentenced to life for murdering 5-year-old in 2022

• IMPACT: Family devastated; child killed while father worked nearby

• OFFICIAL SOURCE: “You took away a light.” – Judge Monica Ruiz during sentencing

• ACTION: Parents urged to vet all caregivers, even family acquaintances

According to prosecutors, Mallory was babysitting Aliyah while her father worked his shift at a tire shop just 200 feet away, unaware that his trust had been placed in a man with a troubling history of violent behavior. Surveillance video captured Aliyah’s father leaving the child in Mallory’s care at approximately 9:42 AM. Less than an hour later, neighbors reported screaming, prompting a 911 call.

Paramedics found the child unresponsive, with signs of blunt force trauma and evidence of smothering. She was pronounced dead at Tampa General Hospital. The defense attempted to argue accidental suffocation during “roughhousing,” but the jury was unanimous: this was murder.

Hyperlocal Impact

1. Precise Location:
   East Tampa (33605) – near N 40th Street and E 21st Avenue, across from Rosado Tire Shop

2. Community Connection:

   “It shook our whole block. Everyone knew that little girl.”
   – Camila Torres, owner of Torres Grocery & Deli

Judge Monica Ruiz sentenced Mallory to life without parole, citing the “heinous and depraved” nature of the crime. “You took away a light, a daughter, a child who had her entire life ahead of her,” she said.

Family members sobbed as Aliyah’s father read his statement: “I trusted you. I was right across the street. And I couldn’t save her.”

The community is reeling, and calls for improved background checks on caregivers are growing louder.

Exclusive Angle

• WHY THIS MATTERS NOW:
  This is the second Polk County child homicide in under a year involving a caregiver, prompting demands for new state legislation requiring routine criminal screening for anyone living in a home with children.

Crisis Response

• IMMEDIATE RESOURCES:
  » Florida Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-96-ABUSE | reportabuse.dcf.state.fl.us
  » Victim Services of Polk County: 863-413-2708

• OFFICIAL GUIDANCE:

  “Even suspicion is enough—make the call and let us investigate.”
  – Shannon Grady, Regional Director, Florida Department of Children and Families

Update Log

• 9:00 AM: Marcus Reed sentenced to life without parole

• 10:30 AM: DCF confirms active review of child protection policies

• 2:00 PM: Candlelight vigil planned Friday night at Lake Eva Park