NOEChic
I may not always be right, but I'm never wrong.
Not for the faint of heart.
The news of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez's tragic beating and torture death has people dumbfounded and asking, "Why?" Why would someone do this to a child? Why did Los Angeles County's Department of Children and Family Services not remove him from his abusive environment? Why did this poor boy die? These questions are currently under investigation by the county, and more details on the abuse and failure within the system have come to light.
When paramedics arrived at the Palmdale home of Fernandez last Wednesday, they found the boy barely breathing and broken. His "skull was cracked, three ribs were broken and his skin was bruised and burned," reports the L.A. Times. "He had BB pellets embedded in his lung and groin. Two teeth were knocked out of his mouth." He died at the hospital Friday. His mother, 29-year-old Pearl Fernandez, told paramedics his injuries were the result of self-mutilation.
Isauro Aguirre, Pearl's 32-year-old boyfriend, admitted to repeatedly beating the boy for lying and "being dirty," per documents obtained by the Times. Pearl admitted to being present during the brutal assault and doing nothing to stop it. The couple was arrested and later charged with capital murder.
Relatives, teachers and other mothers at Fernandez's school told officials the signs of child abuse were obvious, yet the boy remained in the unsafe environment since October, when Pearl won custody of him from her parents.
So the question still remains: Why was he not rescued from him home? In a story published Thursday by the Times entitled, "Signs of boy's abuse missed by L.A. County social workers," evidence of the continued abuse was present, yet red flags failed to convince social workers the boy was in danger. The list is long.
Fernandez had previously written a note contemplating suicide, his teacher told authorities he appeared bruised and battered at school, bruises from BB pellets were evident on his face, his therapist submitted a complaint in late March that the boy had been forced to perform oral sex on a relative and a referral to conduct an investigation into child abuse at the home lingered two months past deadline. Says the Times, "The social worker assigned to that case did not make first contact with the family until 20 days after the complaint was received, and then 'made minimal attempts to investigate,' according to an internal county report." Every investigation except for one was determined "unfounded."
Pearl's history with the department goes back at least 10 years, when her oldest son, wearing no seat belt, suffered a head injury in a car accident. A report surfaced a year later that Pearl was beating the son and no longer wished to care for him, but the complaint was "unfounded." Pearl also told social workers of her history of gang involvement, drug use and mental problems. Another complaint surfaced in 2007 that she was starving one of her daughters and threatened to break the girl's jaw for crying. She also spent time in jail in Texas for using a weapon in a reckless manner.
Yet somehow she regained custody of Fernandez and his two siblings in October. Up until then, Fernandez had little interaction with his mother.
Speculation points to welfare money as the motive behind the custody request.
The calls and complaints continued for months.
Four social workers have been placed on desk duty and await possible disciplinary action, and the department has fallen under heavy criticism. "Department of Children and Family Services Director Philip Browning acknowledged in an interview that the system failed Gabriel," according to the Times, and friends and relatives of Fernandez have helped stage several protests, organized fundraisers and set up a Facebook page, "Gabriel's Justice." It has garnered over 26,000 likes so far.
Aguirre and Pearl's arraignment has been scheduled for June 11
The news of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez's tragic beating and torture death has people dumbfounded and asking, "Why?" Why would someone do this to a child? Why did Los Angeles County's Department of Children and Family Services not remove him from his abusive environment? Why did this poor boy die? These questions are currently under investigation by the county, and more details on the abuse and failure within the system have come to light.
When paramedics arrived at the Palmdale home of Fernandez last Wednesday, they found the boy barely breathing and broken. His "skull was cracked, three ribs were broken and his skin was bruised and burned," reports the L.A. Times. "He had BB pellets embedded in his lung and groin. Two teeth were knocked out of his mouth." He died at the hospital Friday. His mother, 29-year-old Pearl Fernandez, told paramedics his injuries were the result of self-mutilation.
Isauro Aguirre, Pearl's 32-year-old boyfriend, admitted to repeatedly beating the boy for lying and "being dirty," per documents obtained by the Times. Pearl admitted to being present during the brutal assault and doing nothing to stop it. The couple was arrested and later charged with capital murder.
Relatives, teachers and other mothers at Fernandez's school told officials the signs of child abuse were obvious, yet the boy remained in the unsafe environment since October, when Pearl won custody of him from her parents.
So the question still remains: Why was he not rescued from him home? In a story published Thursday by the Times entitled, "Signs of boy's abuse missed by L.A. County social workers," evidence of the continued abuse was present, yet red flags failed to convince social workers the boy was in danger. The list is long.
Fernandez had previously written a note contemplating suicide, his teacher told authorities he appeared bruised and battered at school, bruises from BB pellets were evident on his face, his therapist submitted a complaint in late March that the boy had been forced to perform oral sex on a relative and a referral to conduct an investigation into child abuse at the home lingered two months past deadline. Says the Times, "The social worker assigned to that case did not make first contact with the family until 20 days after the complaint was received, and then 'made minimal attempts to investigate,' according to an internal county report." Every investigation except for one was determined "unfounded."
Pearl's history with the department goes back at least 10 years, when her oldest son, wearing no seat belt, suffered a head injury in a car accident. A report surfaced a year later that Pearl was beating the son and no longer wished to care for him, but the complaint was "unfounded." Pearl also told social workers of her history of gang involvement, drug use and mental problems. Another complaint surfaced in 2007 that she was starving one of her daughters and threatened to break the girl's jaw for crying. She also spent time in jail in Texas for using a weapon in a reckless manner.
Yet somehow she regained custody of Fernandez and his two siblings in October. Up until then, Fernandez had little interaction with his mother.
Speculation points to welfare money as the motive behind the custody request.
The calls and complaints continued for months.
Four social workers have been placed on desk duty and await possible disciplinary action, and the department has fallen under heavy criticism. "Department of Children and Family Services Director Philip Browning acknowledged in an interview that the system failed Gabriel," according to the Times, and friends and relatives of Fernandez have helped stage several protests, organized fundraisers and set up a Facebook page, "Gabriel's Justice." It has garnered over 26,000 likes so far.
Aguirre and Pearl's arraignment has been scheduled for June 11