Father of 3 children slain in Riviera Beach sues DCF

By Jane Musgrave

WEST PALM BEACH — The father of three children who were killed and a fourth who was injured when his ex-wife's estranged husband went on a deadly rampage in September 2010 is suing the Florida Department of Children & Families for negligence.

The suit filed by Michael Barnett comes a month after the father of a fourth child who was killed in the massacre filed a similar lawsuit against the state agency that is to protect children from harm.

Instead, according to the lawsuit Barnett filed last week in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, the agency ignored obvious warning signs. For instance, the Riviera Beach Police Department was summoned to Natasha Whyte-Dell's home 34 times before Patrick Dell broke in and shot and killed Whyte-Dell and four of her seven children and wounded another youngster before turning the gun on himself.

The agency did open an investigation in December 2009 after Dell was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and criminal mischief for coming after Whyte-Dell with a knife. While she and a friend cowered behind a door, she told police he screamed at her, "Your family is going to cry today" and "You will be going to the morgue."

However, despite the threats and ongoing violence, the agency closed its investigation, concluding the children weren't at "significant risk," according to Barnett's lawsuit.

In May 2010, Whyte-Dell got a restraining order against Dell after he again attacked her. In her petition, she said she heard Dell was trying to buy a gun and would use it to hurt her and her children. Four months later, that's exactly what he did.

Killed in the attack were Barnett's children: Daniel, 7; Diane, 13, and Bryan, 14. Injured was the divorced couple's 15-year-old son Ryan. Also killed was Javon Nelson, 11, the son of Leroy Nelson Jr., who is suing DCF. Two children survived.

DCF officials declined comment on the lawsuit. Shortly after the attack, then-DCF regional director Perry Borman admitted the case was not handled properly. The investigator was fired after being charged with battery in an unconnected incident.

Systems have been put in place in hopes of averting a similar disaster, said Mark Riordan, an agency spokesman. DCF now receives copies of any requests for restraining orders filed with the Palm Beach County Clerk of Courts. There also is greater cooperation between the agency and local law enforcement agencies, he said.

Source http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/father-of-3-children-slain-in-riviera-beach-2220804.html

Caretaker details abuse child says he endured - Barahona Case

MIAMI (WSVN) -- The caretaker of a 10-year-old boy who was allegedly abused by his adoptive parents has provided new details about the abuse he said he and his murdered sister endured.

Katia Garcia was the temporary guardian who took care of Victor after the 10-year-old boy was found doused with chemicals and severely burned in a pickup truck on the side of Interstate 95, near West Palm Beach, on Feb. 14, 2011.

The body of Victor's twin sister, Nubia, was found in the back of the truck, which belonged to the siblings' adoptive father, Jorge Barahona.

The children's adoptive parents, Jorge and Carmen Barahona, were arrested and charged with murder and torture. Meanwhile, Victor was sent to live with Garcia.

Garcia made several audio statements to prosecutors in June, several months after Nubia's death. Garcia informed prosecutors that Victor told her what he remembered about living with the Barahonas. "His father used to put a bag over his head and that he used to choke him, and he says that there were a couple of times that he was very close to dying," said Garcia.

According to Garcia, Victor always referred to Jorge Barahona as "Dad," but that he nor his sister ever saw any signs of affection from their adoptive parents or heard them say "I love you."

Victor told Garcia about his sister Nubia and how she looked when he last saw her. "He stutters, because he's so angry. She had this big scab on her forehead and on her face and different parts of her face as well as smaller ones," Garcia said, "and he is very clear about that being what she looked like and how she was found the very last time he saw her."

Victor also talked about how he and his sister could barely walk after they were tied up for so long, Garcia said: "He would walk like hunchback because of the position that he had to remain in for so long."

Garcia continued, "He says that while they were in the bathtub, his dad would pour cold ice water on top of him and his sister."

In addition, Garcia said, Victor mentioned that Jorge Barahona would also pour other liquids on them while they were in the tub. "Like Clorox, like Drano," she said.

The abuse did not end there. "His father used to pour hot sauce in his ears, eyes, nose and mouth. His dad, his father, made him eat a cockroach," Garcia said Victor told her.

On another occasion, Garcia said, "[Victor] saw some of my eyelashes and then, he said that his was shut with like Krazy Glue."

According to Garcia, on Victor's birthday, all he could think of was Nubia. "That he missed her and that he thinks about her," she said. "He cried a couple times on his birthday."

Victor is now living with relatives in Texas.

Miami-Dade prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Jorge and Carmen Barahona.

Source http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/21006626802259/caretaker-details-abuse-child-says-he-endured/

Orange County Deputy arrested and relieved from duty - Florida

Blogger note:
Finally, we can say that a CPS call turned out to help. The sad part is, the people we are to trust, such as this Deputy Sheriff, prove to be the offenders of the very thing that many of us have been accused of. Yet, people like this testify in courtrooms everyday and are believed without question when the accusations are made against regular people, even though what they testify to is usually a blatant lie.
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ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL Fox 35) - An Orange County Deputy has been arrested for battery with bodily injury and relieved from duty.

On Friday, just before 7pm, a Lake Mary Police Officer was responding to the residence of Deputy Sheriff Michael Shambaugh to assist with a Child Protection Services investigation. While at the residence, the Lake Mary Police Officer observed the physical condition of Shambaugh’s wife and determined there was probable cause to take Deputy Sheriff Shambaugh into custody. Deputy Shambaugh was transported to the Seminole County Jail for processing.

An Orange County Watch Commander responded to the Seminole County Jail and confiscated Deputy Shambaugh's law enforcement credentials and firearms, and relieved him from duty as an Orange County Deputy Sheriff.

The Orange County Sheriff's Office Professional Standards Section will be conducting an administrative review of the circumstances.

Source http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/orange_news/121711-orange-county-deputy-arrested-and-relieved-from-duty

Even suspicion of sex abuse must be reported, Florida experts say in wake of Penn State scandal

By Jane Musgrave and Ana M. Valdes

As federal officials this week continue to investigate whether Penn State University failed to report incidents of alleged sexual abuse on campus as mandated by federal law, many child advocates in Florida are hailing a state statute that requires professionals such as school personnel, to report any suspicion of child abuse or neglect to law enforcement.

But the law, which specifies teachers, doctors, child care workers and other professionals must report abuse, has let to few penalties for those who don't follow it in Palm Beach County, according to records from the State Attorney's Office.

Only two people have been charged for failing to report abuse since 1999, while 37 have been prosecuted for falsely reporting abuse, records show.

Statewide, the Florida Department of Children and Families doesn't keep track of cases where people were penalized for failing to report abuse, "but we are not aware of great numbers of prosecutions," DCF spokesman Joe Follick said.

"Obviously, (the law) is not a heavy-handed effort by the state to penalize anyone who might accidentally not have the judgment to report (abuse), but I think it is an indication of how seriously the Florida legislature and Floridians understand the responsibility of everyone to make sure that children are safe," Follick said.

Some of the law's supporters, however, agree that regardless of few prosecutions for potential violators, Florida Statute 39.205 holds many professionals accountable for keeping children safe. And had such a state law been in force in Pennsylvania -- something state officials there now are considering -- it could have averted crimes and brought offenders to justice sooner, Florida expertsay.

Former prosecutor Scott Cupp, who ran the Crimes Against Children Unit in the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, said such a law could could been used to charge all the Penn State officials who knew about former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky's alleged sex abuse of boys.

While federal law ultimately was brought to bear on Sandusky, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services specifies that primary responsibility for child welfare services rests with the states.

"McQueary, McQueary's father, Paterno, Spanier, Curley," Cupp said, ticking off the names of the high-level Penn State officials who were alerted, according to a grand jury report that accused Sandusky of sexually abusing eight boys over a 15-year period.

Since the release of the report, Penn State's head football coach Joe Paterno was criticized for not doing more to stop the alleged abuse. He was particularly scolded for how he handled an alleged 2002 incident at the university's football complex, in which then-graduate assistant and current assistant coach Mike McQueary told Paterno that he saw Sandusky assaulting a boy in the showers.

Paterno notified the athletic director, Tim Curley, and a vice president, Gary Schultz, who in turn notified university President Graham Spanier. Paterno and Spanier were fired Wednesday, and Curley and Schultz have been charged with perjury and failing to report the incident to authorities.

Although Paterno is not a target of the criminal investigation, Pennsylvania's police commissioner called his failure to contact police himself a lapse in "moral responsibility."

Cupp, who often spoke to local health care workers and educators about their responsibilities under Florida law, said he would always specify they should not just report abuse to a superior, but call the Department of Children and Familes' Child Abuse Hotline.

"You both call it in," he said. "What's the worst that could happen? We spent two dimes."

In addition, he said, using a teacher as an example, there's no way of knowing what's going on behind the scenes. "For all you know, the assistance principal and the perp are drinking buddies."

Lake Worth attorney Betty Resch, who also led the Crimes Against Children unit in the 1990s, agreed that Paterno had a legal obligation to call police when told Sandusky had been seen having sex with a young boy in a university shower.

"I think he did the right thing by going to his superiors," she said. "But he should have followed up. It should have been so disturbing to him that he should have followed up, to want to find out what was happening and how the school was handling it."

In Florida, all residents, not just "professionally mandated reporters" such as teachers and hospital workers -- are required to report any suspicion of abuse or neglect to the Department of Children and Families' Florida Abuse Hotline, said department spokesperson Joe Follick. (The hotline number is 800-962-2873.)

In fiscal year 2010-2011, the hotline received 313,307 calls, according to DCF records. The slightest suspicion warrants a call, even if the reporter did not hear about the alleged abuse directly from the victim, Follick said. "It can be anyone who has knowledge or suspicion of this," he said. "You can say, 'well that creates more work,' but we would always rather err on the side of having too many calls come in than not enough."

A lawyer for Schultz, the ousted Penn State vice president, said he will seek to have the reporting charge dismissed because the mandated reporting rules only apply to those who come into direct contact with children.

On the heels of the Penn State sex scandal, legislators in Pennsylvania have said they would introduce legislation to strengthen mandatory reporting laws in child abuse cases. State Rep. Kevin Boyle says he will introduce a bill that would require mandated reporters to notify police themselves rather than pass their information on to superiors at work.

"It is clear that a loophole exists in our law," Boyle told The Associated Press. "My legislation would close that loophole, by requiring those who are aware of the abuse to report it to law enforcement authorities, rather than simply following an in-house chain of command."

For Cupp, the former Palm Beach County prosecutor, Florida's law offers a safety net for young victims of abuse by specifically identifying mandatory reporters. "The statute in Florida accepts, anticipates and encourages redundant reporting," Cupp said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Source http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/even-suspicion-of-sex-abuse-must-be-reported-1963465.html?page=2

Man Jailed For False Report Of Child Abuse

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A Jacksonville man was sentenced to 45 days in jail after being charged with making a false report of child abuse.

Timmy Riley will also have to pay several fines for his false reporting and has been advised not to make any false reports to the Department of Children and Families in violation of a previously entered injunction.

Riley was arrested by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. According to Florida state law, "a person who knowingly and willfully makes a false report, or who advises another to make a false report, is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable by up to five years imprisonment."

"Child safety is the first priority of the Florida Department of Children and Families," said DCF Interim Regional Managing Director Pattie Mallon. "We investigate allegations of abuse and neglect involving children, and we take our investigations very seriously. If we receive a report of serious abuse or neglect, our investigators must see the children within two hours. Our goal is to see all child victims within 24 hours of the first report of abuse. Because our goal is to be highly responsive, any false reports of abuse could prevent us from seeing real abuse victims quickly and giving them the protection they need. We salute the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office for their swift action to arrest this person who falsely reported abuse."

A false report is defined as a report of abuse, neglect or abandonment of a child to the central abuse hotline in which the report is maliciously made for the purpose of harassing, embarrassing or harming another person; personal financial gain for the reporting person; acquiring custody of a child; or personal benefit for the reporting person in any other private dispute involving a child.

This does not include a report made in good faith to the central abuse hotline. Florida law allows for an administrative fine for up to $10,000 for each report determined to be false.

False reports of child abuse are rare in the Jacksonville area, according to DCF. In Duval, Nassau and Clay counties, less than 1/10 of 1 percent of all abuse reports received in a 12-month period were verified to be false reports.

Source http://www.news4jax.com/news/29439438/detail.html

Lawmakers express continued frustration with DCF response in Barahona case

By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 6:16 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011
Posted: 6:12 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011

TALLAHASSEE — Frustrated lawmakers grilled the head of Florida's Department of Children and Families Tuesday and expressed doubt about whether he's doing enough to make the state's children safer in the aftermath of the alleged Barahona child abuse case.

DCF Secretary David Wilkins' appearance Tuesday morning before the Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee was his first since the July 25 release of a Miami-Dade County grand jury report that found that child welfare workers failed to properly monitor Nubia Barahona's adoptive parents as highlighted by her alleged torture and slaying this winter.

Wilkins was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott shortly before 10-year-old Nubia's body was discovered in a plastic bag in the back of her adopted father Jorge Barahona's truck alongside Interstate 95 in West Palm Beach on Valentine's Day. Her twin brother, Victor, was found drenched in chemicals and convulsing in the front seat.

Jorge Barahona and his wife Carmen, the children's foster parents for five years before adopting them, have been charged with first-degree murder and child abuse in Nubia's death.

Since then, the agency hired 100 child protection investigators, conducted additional training session for caseworkers and increased the number of foster children who are getting regular medical and dental care, Wilkins said. The department has also stopped measuring how long hot line operators spend on the phone with tipsters, he said. The abuse hot line received at least two calls in the days preceding Nubia's death.

"But we've still got a long way to go," Wilkins told the committee, acknowledging there was a "big breakdown" in the Barahona case.

The non-binding grand jury report recommended that child welfare workers have full access to databases containing reports of allegations about at-risk children, something that Wilkins said he was still trying to put into effect.

But he drew fire from Committee Chairwoman Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, when he blamed the tragedy on Andrea Fleary, the DCF child abuse investigator fired in March who allegedly repeatedly signed off on the children's welfare without making contact with them.

"Our assessment is that the number one symptom of the problem was the case manager was not owning the case," he said.

To which Storm said, "I don't know what the heck that means. What the blankety-blank does that mean? The little girl was practically peeling paint off the wall to eat and they were afraid of these people and everybody at the school was saying it and the most we can come up with was the case manager was not owning the case?

"I think you should be more direct to say this was a human failure for humanity for this person. That's a human failure. I don't know how else to say it."

Wilkins also said that all foster children are now being seen by caseworkers every 30 days but that he wanted an extra $25 million for additional visits "any time a major event" occurs in the child's life.

Caseworkers should already have been visiting the children monthly, Sen. Nan Rich said, because lawmakers initiated that requirement after the disappearance a decade ago of Rilya Wilson, a 4-year-old foster child who has never been found.

"We're going right back to the same kind of situation," Rich, D-Weston, said.

The disconnection of the Barahonas' telephone, the children's problems at school, hot line reports and an inability to make physical contact with the twins apparently went ignored, Rich said.

"Normally I would say we don't need legislation. But to me something is dramatically and drastically wrong if all of these red flags are not seen. This to me is just crying out for us to do something," she said.

Wilkins suggested that the agency keep tabs on adopted children for up to one year, especially in the case of special needs children.

But Storms, a lawyer, said she believed that would be unconstitutional.

After Wilkins' hour-long testimony, lawmakers appeared uncertain what, if anything, they could do.

"It's a source of enormous frustration. It can be very discouraging to continue to hear some of the same things," Storms said after Wilkins testified. "All I can do is keep trying and keep hoping that we get a different result. But we can make all the laws that we want to make and pass all the statutes and if people will not do what they're supposed to do then I don't know how you fix that."

Source http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/lawmakers-express-continued-frustration-with-dcf-response-in-1869405.html