Did social service fail to protect 4 year old Dominick Calhoun?

[redhen]

Okay,,heres a story for y'all..
I was given on file on a kid... we'll call him R
hes been in lock-up since he was 12... hes 17 now
he was basically a feral child ..and was also severely abused by family ... when he got locked up he couldnt read/write (i dont think he had ever been in school..)... or speak any english..(he was born here in the US..)
anyways... his mother left him in charge of his younger siblings and she took off to Purto Rico.. (no idea how long she was away for...) A 12 yr old child left alone with several younger siblings..no food.. nothing.
while she was gone the neighbors child was over his house..and he was also watching that child..well.. this poor child was mis-behaving..and so R picked him up and slammed him on the ground..the child hit his head badly..
R didnt know what to do... so he had the child lay down..
well the next day... R's mother came home.. and saw the condition of the child and called 911... sadly the child died at the hospital.
R's mother is now is prision for this murder... right where she belongs!
They brought him here to my house..i feel SO badly for this child... (i'm not excusing what he did... )
they say that once he got out of that enviroment he has THRIVED... and has NO behaviors at all in lock-up... all the staff is very attached to him...
he got his diploma in January and is ready for college this fall...

So..anyways the point of this story is to say,..YES...that mother better go down too!!

 

[Bluemoon420]

The mother is not facing charges because he beat the crap out of her too. The mother tried to protect her child by laying on top of him. The dispicable human being beat them both. She was clearly abused as he was. She won't be charged. I'll refrain from saying anything else.

We saw that story too Boyd. DH said it wasn't too far from us. That dispicable human being needs more than just jail time. As DH said, he will probably not have a pleasant time in jail due to the nature of what he did. If you know what I mean.

Bluemoon

 

[Camelot Farms]

Quote:
I respectfully disagree with this specific instance of punishing both adults. Having worked in Family Violence for 10 years, I believe her to be as much a victim as the child. Yes, she is an adult, a physically and emotionally abused adult. We dont know what went on in that home to make her believe that staying was safer than leaving. Victims of Family Violence have their own unique set of issues that have to be taken into consideration. Just as we take kidnap victims suffering from Stockholm Syndrome into consideration.

If society starts haphazardly victimizing the victims, then fewer and fewer will come forward. Situations like this seldom work to make victims leave batterers. In fact, it often helps to prove the point that a batterer has made, which is that they are in control and if they go down...so does the victim, or another common threat...you are a bad parent, you dont know how to take care of your kids. Arrest the victim in this case and it only proves that the legal system will re-victimize a victim if they come forward.

Are there situations where the mother is guilty? Certainly, but from the basic information provided in the story, this does not appear to be one of them.

The best thing that society can do is continue to make batterers accountable for thier actions on every level and for every instance. And raise our children to respect and be respected. Its the only way that Family Violence will ever be eradicated.

One last thing, statistically dozens of victims of violence will be reading this thread. We should be mindful of this as we comment and discuss.
Thanks for letting me add my thoughts!

Edited to make sure all references were gender neutral.

 

[Gonzo]

I can't read what happened to the child.. I get too upset... I do think that the justice system is too kind to these monsters.. Even with the death penalty! Think about it, They put them to sleep... Big Deal! When it comes to henious crimes, especially against children, I want the punishment to be a direct reflection of the crime. No one whos hurts a child like that deserves to live, and the lethal injection is too kind... They need to feel the pain and fear their victims felt, they deserve to suffer. I have 2 kids, if anything ever happened to one of them, they had better hope the cops find them before I do!

 

[pdsavage]

I told Bonnie to leave him cause eventually he will turn on the kids,little did I know he had all ready started abusing the baby....a week later she was dead...everyone is like oh those poor parents but I was so angery cause I knew he killed her...not one single family member for De in that court room cried when they showed the autopsy photos...I was the only one who cried for her...Those are pictures I will never ever get out of my head,I can understand her taking the abuse but to not protect ones own child well then she deserve the punishment also...
He only got 7 years and she gets 7 years probation......
She was only 2 1/2 months old......

 

[redux]

When you have children to take care of, you don't date drug dealers. Period. She put her child in harm's way and she deserves to answer for it.

 

[AHappychick]

oh I read about it the other day and was HORRIFIED!!!!! tears streamed down my eyes. I immediately thought =give me a few hours in a room with this guy, yes Dexter has the right idea on this one. The only consolation is that in jail he will be raped and beaten until dead I am sure.

As far as SS failing him yes they f-ed up big time so sad.

 

[AhBee01]

It just happened here too, and I know the Grandmother and Mother of the baby.

It is just so sad, the Mother is now charged also. I couldn't believe she would have knowing left her children in his care if he would hurt them.
I went to the calling hrs. I hope I never have to go through that again.
The whole family seem to be in shock like this man surprised them all. Even the real father's family. So honestly you never truly know anyone.

Here is the story, if you dig a little more you will find the article where the mother is charged. I still think that she caved after being interrogated for 5 straight hrs.
(At least that is what I hope happened)

http://www.wkbn.com/content/news/lo...on-Toddlers-Death/JKHiL8ffJUSTdh1Dpivm2w.cspx

 

[Camelot Farms]

Wondering if the better question would be 'did society fail to protect him'. Yes, SS has a job and a responsibility to 'save' these childen but is that only because 'we' havent done the right thing by children to begin with?

The very first child abuse case ever prosecuted was handled by the ASPCA because no one else would defend the child's right to be safe...

It was 1873. Mary-Ellen was 9 years old when a church worker, Mrs. Etta Wheeler, who had been asked to visit the family, found Mary-Ellen shackled to her bed, grossly malnourished, scarred and badly beaten. Mrs. Wheeler was so appalled by what she saw that she went to the authorities to report this horrifying child abuse.

The authorities turned her away.

But Mrs. Wheeler refused to take no for an answer; she petitioned the American SPCA.

Animals were protected, but children were not.

Mrs. Wheeler appealed to the ASPCA that children were members of the animal kingdom, and must therefore be protected. It was on these grounds that the ASPCA did finally intervene.

Mary-Ellen was removed from her abusive home, placed in foster care, where she thrived. She went on to marry, have 2 daughters, and Mary-Ellen lived to the age of 92.

The story of Dominick tells me that we havent made terribly great strides since then. Perhaps legally we have because there are now laws that attempt to protect children. But how many Etta Wheelers are there? Not as many as there could be. The article Boyd posted tells that the only reason the beating stopped is because the womans sister and some drug customers came to the house. Thank God they believed as Etta Wheeler did in 1873. But, there are more people out there who arent as brave as Etta and those people who in the article. Most people dont want to get involved. Sure, most of us would save a child who was in immediate danger but what about the child who gets their face slapped by the parent while in the grocery store? Or the child on the playground who gets their arm yanked by a parent? Or the parent who calls their child names in the presence of others?

If there were more Etta Wheelers who would stand up and stand behind these children, there would be fewer Dominicks. And the SS agencies would be better equipped to do their job. A vocal witness is almost a guarantee to a better outcome for children. The 'I dont want to get involved' mentality is what keeps the Dominicks and their non-abusing parent in the situation.

Be the voice for a child like Dominick, before its too late. Simply arguing for punitive laws wont change anything. At that point, its too late.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
Ditto... she knew what kind of person he was... she put her child in harms way for drugs..
I hope and pray they charge her too...