Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Robert Chaiken, Attorney & David Wolf, Attorney Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
A jury in Forth Worth, Texas found 18-year-old Shantaniqua Scott guilty of two counts of injury to a child with serious bodily injury: a sentence of 25 years behind bars. The jurors watched a graphic hospital surveillance video that allegedly showed Scott smothering her four-month hold son with a blanket and then her hand.
At trial, doctors at Cook Childrens Medical Center testified that they put the baby in a room with a hidden camera because they suspected he was a victim of child abuse. The child was brought into the hospital after he had stopped breathing. At first the doctors thought he suffered from severe reflux; a condition when acid from the stomach backs up into the esophagus. The baby underwent surgery to correct the condition. However, two days later he mysteriously stopped breathing again. Hospital staff became suspicious of child abuse, so they secured a hidden camera in the child’s room.
Douglas County Judge, Sally Pokorny ordered Richard Gonzalex, 69, to serve 25 years to life in prison for allegedly molesting a four-year-old girl. According to prosecutors, the girl alleged the acts occurred several times over a six week period in 2009.
In Star County, Texas a two-year-old girl suffered burn injuries when her parents left her unattended in a bath tub. Her mother, Carolyn Garza has been charged with injury to a child by omission. Her husband, the toddler’s stepfather, Jesus Alberto Lerma has also been charged for negligence. The toddler was taken to San Antonio Hospital and treated for burns. She has since been placed in the care of another family member. The parents claim it was an accident and blame a faulty water heater.
In one year alone, over one million children will become victims of some sort of child abuse and neglect in this country. An abused child is generally considered to be: “a child whose physical or mental health is harmed or threatened with harm, or by the acts of omission of a person responsible for his/her welfare.”
The number of victims of child sexual abuse and molestation grows each year. According to the U.S. Justice Department, roughly 32% of girls and 14% of boys are molested before the age of 18. In addition, nearly 2/3 of all sexual assaults reported involved minors and roughly 1/3 involved children under the age of 12. In most cases, child molestation goes unreported. Estimates are that only 35% of sexual abuse is reported. The reason may be because kids are frightened or embarrassed to say anything.
Child abuse is described as any act of commission or omission that endangers or impairs a child’s physical or emotional health and development. Child abuse includes any damage done to a child which cannot be reasonably explained and which is often accompanied by an injury or series of injuries appearing to be non-accidental in nature.
A day care worker was arrested for allegedly injuring a young child in Huntsville, Texas. A 10-month-old was treated for bruises to the face, neck, and torso at Huntsville Memorial Hospital, and then transferred to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston for observation. The baby was released to the parents the next day.
Sexual harassment in schools is unwanted and unwelcome sexual behavior that interferes with a student’s right to receive an education. The problem is more prevalent than you might think because most students who become victims are too embarrassed or scared to report sexual harassment. Sexually harassing behaviors range from words (written or spoken) and gestures to unwanted physical contact that can cause a substantial interference with a student’s schoolwork or ability to participate in extracurricular activities. Some instances of sexual harassment may also be criminal acts such as assault, rape, and child abuse.
Shaken baby syndrome is a form of child abuse that causes traumatic brain injury when a baby is violently shaken. The characteristic injuries of shaken baby syndrome include subdural hemorrhages (bleeding of the brain), retinal hemorrhages (bleeding of the retina), damage to the spinal cord and neck, and fractures to the ribs and bones. Symptoms include convulsions, vomiting, irritability, lethargy, poor feeding, and pale or bluish colored skin. Shaken baby syndrome usually occurs in children younger than two years old but could occur in children up to the age of five.