Jennifer Garcia began calling social workers in 2012. invisible stranding in knitting. Suddenly, Pearl wanted custody back in October 2012. That would be reportable. She also told Reid that during Red Ribbon Week, when teachers talked about staying away from narcotics, Gabriel had announced that cocaine was a drug. The area had seen an influx of poor families, and the number of calls to the child-abuse hotline was rising faster there than anywhere else in Southern California. I probably would have lost my kids, she said, because I spanked them good. Four Los Angeles County social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, 30; Patricia Clement, 65; Kevin Bom, 36; and Gregory Merritt, 60 have been charged with child abuse and falsifying public. Case dismissed against social workers charged in death of . - nbcnews.com. But Pearl noticed Martinez studying her son and abruptly grabbed Gabriel and his siblings and left, blocking Martinezs view of Gabriel on the way out. Le Norgant also called 911, but the officer who visited the home left without even talking to Gabriel. This investigation was ongoing when Gabriel died. Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. All four were fired from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services after an internal investigation into the boy's May 24, 2013 death. Its not part of your duties.. White House Farm killer played badminton and drew models in prison. She claimed to social workers that she had concerns about how he was being treated but family members say she wanted Gabriels welfare benefits. Martinez told Pearl to quiet down. Garcia asked Gabriel if he wanted to take part in that days assignment or not, which was making a Mothers Day card. After school, Garcia made yet another call to Rodriguez. Little round bruises dotted his face. During the trial, it was revealed that Gabriel had been starved, kept in handcuffs, shot with BB guns, doused with pepper spray, forced to eat his own vomit and locked in a cabinet with a sock stuffed in his mouth to muffle his screams. On file we have 129 email addresses and 83 phone numbers associated with Stefanie in area codes such as 813, 347, 718, 281, 256, and 32 other area codes. Fishpond Hong Kong, Statistical Mechanics, Third Edition by R K Pathria . Gabriel has a black eye, there were lumps on the back of his head, and his skin was almost yellow. In California, the downturn in foster care began even before Logans death, and was steeper than the national one. Fernandez is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. On May 22, Pearl and Aguirre tortured Gabriel a final time. White House Farm ending: Where are they now? Let me stop you there. In his view, caseworkers should get more oversight, not less. Clinical Social Work/Therapist, LCSW-R, MSW Location. Pearl Sinthia Fernandez was sentenced to life in prison without parole after pleading to first-degree murder and admitting the torture allegation. Towards the end of January, when Gabriel came to class, there was no more laughing. By 1967, all 50 states had such laws, and the list of professionals required to report abuse expanded to include teachers, coaches, counselors, and others. On May 22, 2013 Pearl Fernandez called 911. Since Gabriels death and the subsequent review, DCFS has hired more than 1,000 caseworkers, provided staff with smartphones, started new methods of training, and changed the standards for the Voluntary Family Maintenance program. Due to confidentiality rules, Rodriguez could say nothing. Gabriel had a fractured skull, fractured ribs, BB pellets lodged in his chest and pelvic region, and a penetrating burn above his groin. A motion to rehear the appeals court decision was denied in January 2020 and the criminal case against these four is not progressing further. The series tracks what happened to eight-year-old Gabriel and the subsequent murder trial of his mother Pearl Fernandez and her partner, Isauro Aguirre. There were cigarette burns on his neck, feet, and genitals and ligature marks on both ankles. Adding that the two should have better documented the escalating violence and lack of cooperation by the family. Find contact's direct phone number, email address, work history, and more. Hed whisper in Gabriels ear to fall to the ground quickly when he hit him. When Le Norgant asked Gabriel whether he was serious, he stared blankly and said Yes. She informed Clement and Merritt, but they took no additional action. It became his mantra. Indeed, this summer a 10-year-old boy named Anthony Avalos was found unresponsive in his mothers apartment in Lancaster, California, just north of Palmdale. We have 122 records for Stefanie Rodriguez ranging in age from 28 years old to 51 years old. Please exercise caution when reading this, as there are accounts of very brutal abuse amounting to torture and a child victim. At the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, administrators had a well-worn routine they followed anytime a child died, or came close to dying, at the hands of a parent or guardiansomething that typically happened at least a couple of times a month. Social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, 34, and Patricia Clement, 69, were charged along with two supervisors, Kevin Bom, 40, and Gregory Merritt, 64, with one felony count each of child abuse and falsifying public records. First responders noted that every single inch of his body had signs of abuse. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. In January, a three-justice panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal issued an opinion directing a lower court to dismiss the charges against the social workers. Casey and the Bush administration advocated for the Department of Health and Human Services to change the way child-protective-services agencies were funded. But as they rummaged through a pile of recently closed cases, Dallis explained that Gabriel, who was 8, had been severely abused and might die. They turned to the tools they used regularly on him: a BB gun, pepper spray, coat hangers, and a wooden baseball bat. Two social workers, Stefanie Rodriguez and Patricia Clement, as well as two of their supervisors, Kevin Bom and Gregory Merritt, were each charged with one felony count of child abuse and . His older brother Ezequiel would try to sneak bananas through the padlocked door. If. Breaking news for Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. (Clement declined to comment for this article.) Stephanie Rodrigues is a member of the caregiver training team. Stefanie has been found in 13 states including Florida, Georgia, New York, New Jersey, Arizona. According to the next worker assigned to Gabriels case, Patricia Clement claimed that new abuse allegations were already being dealt with and that she was going to close the case because there were no concerns at the moment. On May 23, 2013, this grim assembly line paused at Greg Merritts cubicle in the Palmdale branch office. Thats why its so crushing to see him treated this way, she said. But the program worried Philip Browning, whod become the head of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services in 2011. Aguirre would call him gay, punish him if he played with dolls, and even made Gabriel wear girls clothing to school. Rodriguez returned her call the following day andallegedly said was assigned to the case and would investigate. Gabriel Fernandez: Is Gabriel Fernandezs killer still alive? Theres hardly a night I dont dream about the department, she told me. By contrast, Virginia, 14, appeared unable to escape her memories. In a gruesome twist, Logan was placed in the custody of a former caseworker, who disciplined her by gagging her with duct tape and leaving her in the basement, where she died. Dixon and Hathaway-Sycamores also handled the very similar case in 2018 when 10-year-old Anthony Avalos died after his mother and her boyfriend abused him. They each faced up to ten years in prison if found guilty. Others had witnessed the abuse, too. However, Lomeli is expected to dismiss the charges at 8:30 a.m Thursday. "Allowing a social worker to evade liability for falsifying a public document would incentivize social workers to put their own interests in avoiding liability for their misdeeds above the purpose of the state's child welfare statutory scheme, which is child safety," Chaney wrote in her concurring and dissenting opinion. Even though the server responded OK, it is possible the submission was not processed. I just pictured him being alone, she told me. Garcia testified that she first called the child abuse hotline on Oct. 30, 2012. ), First published on January 7, 2020 / 5:43 AM. . On February 26th 2020, Netflix released a documentary called The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez. Grace: My mom is 77 and she's better about money. Those injuries included hits to the face, punches, and even bullets by a BB gun. Such was the case with 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez and his first-grade teacher Jennifer Garcia. She became a caseworker in her 50s, after spending much of her career as a counselor at the church where her husband was a pastor. She decided to call Rodriguez again, and again got voicemail. Garcia asked what had happened. Stanley and her colleagues often puzzled over the fact that Clement, 68, had been a Catholic nun. MORE: Palmdale woman, boyfriend sentenced in 8-year-old's torture killing. About 74,700 openings for social workers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. She said she had been assigned to investigate and told Garcia to call her directly if she noticed. One week before his death, Gabriels school, Summerwind Elementary, asked a sheriffs deputy to investigate, but he received the wrong address. We did our own thing out there, he told me. Garcia called Gabriels caseworker, Rodriguez, on two different numbers and left messages. All Information about Stefanie Rodriguez If Merritt and his colleagues had dug deeper, or simply paid closer attention to what they already knew, they might have uncovered the familys secret: that Gabriel spent days and nights with a sock in his mouth, shoelaces knotted around his hands, a bandanna shrouding his face, handcuffs locking his ankles, trapped inside a cabinet in his mothers bedroom. Call or Email Stefanie Vitale now - (919) 374-4292. By then, she and Bom had already decided to end the investigation; they saw no signs of danger or abuse. That was a mistake, the school secretary, Pam Howell, told Evans. n April 26, Pearl Fernandez was at the welfare office with her children when a security guard named Arturo Martinez recognized what the trained professionals had somehow failed to see: that Gabriel was the victim of extreme abuse, and urgently needed rescuing. Free college is now a reality in nearly 30 states. I learned early on that if Im gonna be any good to my clients, I have to take care of myself, Merritt said. Gabriel's mother, Pearl Sinthia Fernandez, was sentenced to life in prison, while her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, was sentenced to death. Claim your profile Get in touch with Stefanie. They just couldnt wrap their heads around it, she told me. ast September, I arranged a ride-along with caseworkers from the Palmdale office of the Department of Children and Family Services. But many of the children in his caseload had that designation. Instead, she said the one thing she thought he could count on: One day, youre going to be 18. Gabriel was either tardy or absent a lot. She then called Pearl Fernandez to pick Gabriel up. When it was time to leave at 5 oclock, I left, whether I had a mound of paperwork in my cubicle or not. The job was hard, and one of the things that angered him most was when a subordinate worked unpaid hours. During a parent-teacher meeting, Pearl said without prompting, I dont hit my kids. Garcia told Pearl that Gabriel was smart and a good writer, but she didnt think Pearl believed her. An arrest warrant filed March 28 identifies the four Los Angeles social workers as Stefanie Rodriguez, 30, Patricia Clement, 65, Kevin Bom, 36, and Gregory Merritt, 60. Find contact's direct phone number, email address, work history, and more. 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