Tag Archives: Cruelty

Better Laws, Child Abuse, Indifference, Mental Abuse, Murder, Physical Abuse

Who Could Starve A Child?

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.jpg photo of man charged with death of 14 year old son
Antonio Juan Gonzalez, 33, charged with homicide, Child Abuse.

Father charged with homicide, Child Abuse after emaciated teen son found dead

MERCER COUNTY, PA  –  A Pennsylvania father is facing charges after his 14-year-old son who only weighed 70 pounds was found dead.

.jpg photo of man charged along with father in death of child
Paul Bacorn, 29, a friend of child’s father, charged with criminal conspiracy and endangering the welfare of a child.

The emaciated teen was discovered outside of the family’s home Thursday morning.

Police say his father Antonio Juan Gonzalez is the one who called 911.

The teen was homeschooled and lived in the home with his father and his 4-year-old sister.

Police say their mother died years ago.

The little girl was average weight and seemed to be in good health.

She’s now in state custody.

Police say they can’t believe the conditions the children had to live in.

Lt. Dan Ekis/state police crime section commander:

“It was squalor conditions.  It was in a country setting.  The victim was found just inside the trailer,” said Lt. Dan Ekis, the state police crime section commander.  “We couldn’t begin to understand what this child went through in fourteen short years, but obviously the way he died, especially at the hands of his father, is especially disturbing.”

Paul Bacorn, a friend of the father, is also facing charges for endangering the welfare of a child and criminal conspiracy.

Meanwhile, authorities are waiting for an autopsy to confirm the teen’s cause of death.

Better Laws, Child Abuse, Child Innocence, Law Enforcement, Physical Abuse, StopChildAbuse

IL Mother Charged With Attempted Murder

.jpg photo of woman accused of attempted murder of her child
Celeste T. Christian, 21, was charged with attempted murder after trying to drown her 3-year-old son.

Chicago mom tried to drown son, 3, days
after posting online that he had died: police

CHICAGO, IL  –  Authorities in Chicago this week said a South Side mother falsely wrote on social media that her 3-year-old son had died, then tried to drown him in a bathtub days later.

Celeste T. Christian, 21, was charged with attempted murder as her son remained hospitalized in critical condition, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The child was being treated at University of Chicago Medical Center for asphyxiation and water in his lungs.  Police said someone had held the toddler underwater.

Christian told police the child had wet himself after the father dropped him off, and gave him a bath.  She claimed she left her son by himself for five to 10 minutes to check on her 2-year-old daughter.

She heard splashing and ran back to the bathroom to find the boy limp in the water, with foam coming out his nose and mouth, and called 911.

An hour before the child arrived at the hospital, a doctor received a call from an organ and tissue donor asking if the boy was there yet, police said.  The donor did not reveal who told them the toddler would be there.

When police interviewed the child’s father, he told them Christian had earlier announced on social media that their son had died and wanted to make funeral plans, the paper reported.

Christian was arrested and held without bail at Cook County Jail.

Child Abuse, Death, Good Parenting, Law Enforcement, Physical Abuse, StopChildAbuse

Biting Will Not Stop The Crying Either

.jpg photo of father charged in son's death
Robert Anthony Resendiz has been accused of bending his 6-month-old infant son in half to silence his crying. Police said the child died on December 21.

Arizona Infant Violently Bent in Half by Dad Has Died

PHOENIX, AZ  –  A 6-month-old baby boy died December 21 after his father aggressively bent him in half to silence his crying.

Robert Anthony Resendiz, 30, was arrested after his infant son arrived at Phoenix Children’s Hospital on December 19 with severe injuries AzFamily.com reported.

Upon examination of the victim’s body, doctors found a grade 4 liver laceration, a left lateral wrist fracture, a laceration of the pancreas and pattern bruising to the right thigh, according to Maricopa County, Arizona, court documents.

In an initial interview with police, Resendiz claimed that he put the baby to sleep on a sofa sometime between 10 and 11 p.m. on December 18.  He said that he called 911 more than 12 hours later when the baby did not wake from sleeping.

According to the probable cause statement, Resendiz called 911 and told the receiver he had woken up to find his baby “unresponsive and not breathing” at 12:45 p.m. the next day.

But examination of the infant’s body and statements from the baby’s mother disproved Resendiz’s account of events in his 911 call and initial interview.

The child’s mother said her son was “awake and alert” when she left for work at 9 a.m. on December 19, according to the probable cause statement.

She then texted Resendiz around 9:45 a.m. to “ensure he was properly caring for her son,” and at 11:45 a.m. she received a reply from Resendiz notifying her that the baby was fine.

An hour later, she received another text from Resendiz that said the child was no longer breathing.

Resendiz eventually admitted to police that he had pressed the infant’s legs over his head and bent his body in order to stop him from crying.

“Robert stated he used approximately 65 percent of his strength to place pressure on the victim and did not release pressure until the victim had stopped moving and was limp,” according to the probable cause statement.  “Robert used an infant doll in order to demonstrate the position of he and the victim.”

The statement concluded, “Robert also stated he had bitten the infant two times on the body out of frustration.”

Bullying, Child Predator, Child Sex Abuse, Good Parenting, Physical Abuse, StopChildAbuse

WI School Employee Arrested

.jpg photo of WI school employee accused of child sexual abuse
Timothy Schilling, 47

Holmen school worker charged with
sexual, physical Child Abuse

La Crosse, Wisconsin  –  A Holmen school district employee is accused of sexually and physically abusing a child over the course of about six years.

Timothy Schilling, 47, raped the boy, beat him with a belt, slapped his genitals with a fly swatter, and urinated on him, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in La Crosse County Circuit Court.

The boy told police the abuse began when he was about 6 and recounted several occasions when he was raped, according to the criminal complaint.  The boy described another encounter when he was about 8 when Schilling hit his bare back with a belt.

According to the complaint, Schilling slapped his face, urinated on his leg, and wrung out soiled underwear over his head when the boy struggled with wetting his pants.  He also pulled on the boy’s genitals and hit them with a fly swatter.

Prosecutors charged Schilling with repeated sexual assault of a child, two felony counts of physical abuse of a child and four counts of disorderly conduct.  The most serious charge carries a maximum 60-year sentence.  He is free on a signature bond.

Schilling, an educational assistant who worked in building security, was put on unpaid leave after he was arrested Nov. 27, according to a letter the district sent to parents.

School District Administrator Kristin Mueller said in the letter that Schilling did not work in classrooms and that his employment was under review.

Mueller said Wednesday that he remains on unpaid leave.

Better Laws, Child Abuse, Good Parenting, Indifference, Physical Abuse, StopChildAbuse

OK Parent Of The Year In Prison Instead

.jpg photo of woman recognized as DHS Adoptive Parent of the Year in NE OK
Deidre Matthews, 50

Oklahoma woman formerly named DHS Adoptive Parent of the Year gets prison time in Child Abuse case

JAY, OK  –  An Oklahoma woman who was formerly named DHS Adoptive Parent of the Year received prison time in connection to a child abuse case.

In 2006, Deidre Matthews, 50, and her former husband, Jerry Matthews, were recognized as Department of Human Services Adoptive Parents of the Year for northeast Oklahoma, the Tulsa World reports.

While the two were married, they reportedly lived with nine children, ages 4 through 17, in an animal feces-infested mobile home in Jay, Oklahoma.

The couple also owned more than 50 animals, including three spider monkeys and 11 lemurs.

According to the Tulsa World, court records show that under the care of Deidre Matthews, the oldest teen was forced to kill her pet kitten by bashing its head into a tree; another child was handcuffed and placed in a dog cage; children were made to stand outside or walk around the house naked; and children were kept home from school to avoid detection of bruises, welts and wounds.

Matthews is also accused of beating the children, allowing pet monkeys to bite the two teen daughters, and withholding food and water as punishment.

Her husband, Jerry, pleaded no contest to two counts of child neglect in 2016.  He received a suspend life sentence in exchange for testifying against his former wife.

This week, Deidre Matthews pleaded no contest to 12 counts of child abuse, child neglect and child endangerment.

According to the Tulsa World, Matthews received a life sentence, all but four years of which was suspended.

The local assistant district attorney said Matthews will receive credit for the year she spent in county jail and that she will only have to serve 85 percent of her sentence.