Recent cases back abuse study Significant others tied to children's injuries, deaths

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Recent cases back abuse study Significant others tied to children's
injuries, deaths.
By Shana Gruskin Staff Writer

July 17, 2005

Three times in recent weeks, South Florida mothers have left their
little boys alone with their boyfriends, only to return home and find
their children critically injured.

In two of those cases, the children have died. A third is battling for
life in a Palm Beach County hospital.

The scenario is familiar to child-welfare experts locally and
nationally.

"I think it's a constellation of factors," said Caren Kaplan, director
of child and family protection for the Child Welfare League of
America. "The young children are the most vulnerable, least able to
protect themselves."

The age of the boyfriends also might be a factor. Two of them were in
their early 20s, the other in his early 30s.

"Young men often do not understand the developmental trajectory of
children," Kaplan said.

Kaplan said a young man may not grasp why a potty-trained child still
has accidents, why a toddler demands constant attention or cries when
mommy's out of sight.

"There's a lack of understanding, a lack of life experience," she
said.

If the significant others also have criminal histories, including
domestic violence or drugs, the situation quickly can become
explosive.

While mothers and fathers most often are accused of abusing or
neglecting their children, boyfriends and girlfriends, or paramours as
they are listed officially, are next on the list -- even more so than
stepparents, according to the most recent data collected by the state
Department of Children & Families.

The three recent cases in South Florida underscore this phenomenon.

In June, 2-year-old Nicholas Ryan of Miami was left with Sam
Giullaume, 32, his mother's boyfriend, according to news reports.
Sometime during the day, Giullaume became frustrated with Ryan and
punched him in the stomach, Miami-Dade police said. The injury
ruptured the boy's liver and left him unconscious. Giullaume drove him
to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police have charged
Giullaume, who had been dating the boy's mother for about a year, with
aggravated child abuse and first-degree murder.

This month, there have been two cases in Palm Beach County of toddlers
being injured while left with their mother's boyfriends.

In one case, a 2-year-old Riviera Beach boy was allegedly hit in the
stomach by his mother's boyfriend, 20-year-old Andrew C. Cesar, after
having a potty-training accident, according to police. His mother went
out for about half an hour. The boy suffered a lacerated liver and was
listed in critical condition in St. Mary's Medical Center.

Cesar, of Riviera Beach, who in the past has been arrested for
burglary, strong-armed robbery, battery and assault, has been charged
with aggravated child abuse.

Elias Geronimo, 31/2, of Lake Worth died after being violently shaken
allegedly by 6-foot, 200-pound Walfrido Pina, 23, according to police.
Pina, who was left alone with the boy while his mother was working,
told police he shook him to "shut him up" because he wouldn't stop
crying for his mother.

Pina had been dating Elias' mother about six months, but she said she
was unaware he had a history of domestic violence, which included a
domestic-battery charge in 2003 in which he was accused him of
grabbing his estranged wife by the neck and throwing her to the floor,
records show. The charge was dropped after Pina agreed to a year's
probation and counseling, records show.

Pina has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse
and aggravated child neglect.

Marlene St. Germain, a senior supervisor with the Department of
Children & Families in Riviera Beach, said too often she has seen
mothers put their children at risk, but they simply aren't looking for
red flags.

"A lot of times they're not aware of the [criminal] history," St.
Germain said.

If a mothers has low self-esteem, it might contribute to the problem
as well. Many women's opinions of themselves come into play when they
let a potentially dangerous man into their home, she said.

"I think if they were more empowered and if they had better
self-esteem, they would not search for it someplace else," St. Germain
said.

Elias' case is particularly poignant because his mother, who is
homeless and is trying to save enough for an apartment, typically
placed him in day care while she worked. In an encounter with
child-welfare workers a few months earlier, investigators praised her
for her ability to navigate the social services system.

"Mother is extremely protective of child," an investigator wrote in a
December 2004 report examining the cause of scratches and scars on the
boy's body. "Mother shows great initiative by tapping into the various
resources in this county. Child has shelter, Medicaid and child care."

The investigator determined the past injuries were caused by an
aggressive puppy and closed the case a month later.

Jane Garcia-Deale, a nurse and medical team coordinator for the Child
Protection Team in Palm Beach County, which brings together experts in
detecting child abuse and neglect, said she's not surprised by the
recent cases. For the past six years, she said, she has seen the level
of abuse and neglect in the county escalate.

"They don't feed the kids, they're not giving them their medications,
they don't give them their shots," she said. "We have parents who stop
giving children formula at 6 months. They can't afford the milk or
[some] are doing drugs with the money."

Instead, she said, they mix water with coffee creamer and then the
baby becomes malnourished.

Paramours, she said, often are involved.

An analysis of 161 deaths over five years in the 2003 Florida Child
Abuse Death Review Report, which examines the deaths of children known
by the child-welfare system to be at risk, supports her perception.
While mothers were involved or responsible for a child's death 36
percent of the time, most of those deaths were caused by neglect.

But when a child dies violently, typically the father or a boyfriend
is to blame, the data show. Overall, fathers were involved or
responsible for 24 percent of those 161 deaths. Boyfriends: 20
percent.

"Every year is just getting worse and worse," Garcia-Deale said. "It's
not just slapping the kid, it's killing them."

Staff Researcher Barbara Hijeck contributed to this report, and
material from The Associated Press was used to supplement the report.

Shana Gruskin can be reached at or
561-243-6537.

Copyright © 2005, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/loc...5491580.story?
page=2&coll=sfla-news-palm

Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age 18

Gee, Douggieboy, I thought the use of police was supposed to improve
the situation in Fl.?

"Jane Garcia-Deale, a nurse and medical team coordinator for the Child
Protection Team in Palm Beach County, which brings together experts in
detecting child abuse and neglect, said she's not surprised by the
recent cases. For the past six years, she said, she has seen the level
of abuse and neglect in the county escalate."

0:-


wexwimpy wrote:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/loc...ds17jul17,0,5=
491580.story?
page=3D2&coll=3Dsfla-news-palm
Recent cases back abuse study Significant others tied to children's
injuries, deaths.
By Shana Gruskin Staff Writer

July 17, 2005

Three times in recent weeks, South Florida mothers have left their
little boys alone with their boyfriends, only to return home and find
their children critically injured.

In two of those cases, the children have died. A third is battling for
life in a Palm Beach County hospital.

The scenario is familiar to child-welfare experts locally and
nationally.

"I think it's a constellation of factors," said Caren Kaplan, director
of child and family protection for the Child Welfare League of
America. "The young children are the most vulnerable, least able to
protect themselves."

The age of the boyfriends also might be a factor. Two of them were in
their early 20s, the other in his early 30s.

"Young men often do not understand the developmental trajectory of
children," Kaplan said.

Kaplan said a young man may not grasp why a potty-trained child still
has accidents, why a toddler demands constant attention or cries when
mommy's out of sight.

"There's a lack of understanding, a lack of life experience," she
said.

If the significant others also have criminal histories, including
domestic violence or drugs, the situation quickly can become
explosive.

While mothers and fathers most often are accused of abusing or
neglecting their children, boyfriends and girlfriends, or paramours as
they are listed officially, are next on the list -- even more so than
stepparents, according to the most recent data collected by the state
Department of Children & Families.

The three recent cases in South Florida underscore this phenomenon.

In June, 2-year-old Nicholas Ryan of Miami was left with Sam
Giullaume, 32, his mother's boyfriend, according to news reports.
Sometime during the day, Giullaume became frustrated with Ryan and
punched him in the stomach, Miami-Dade police said. The injury
ruptured the boy's liver and left him unconscious. Giullaume drove him
to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police have charged
Giullaume, who had been dating the boy's mother for about a year, with
aggravated child abuse and first-degree murder.

This month, there have been two cases in Palm Beach County of toddlers
being injured while left with their mother's boyfriends.

In one case, a 2-year-old Riviera Beach boy was allegedly hit in the
stomach by his mother's boyfriend, 20-year-old Andrew C. Cesar, after
having a potty-training accident, according to police. His mother went
out for about half an hour. The boy suffered a lacerated liver and was
listed in critical condition in St. Mary's Medical Center.

Cesar, of Riviera Beach, who in the past has been arrested for
burglary, strong-armed robbery, battery and assault, has been charged
with aggravated child abuse.

Elias Geronimo, 31/2, of Lake Worth died after being violently shaken
allegedly by 6-foot, 200-pound Walfrido Pina, 23, according to police.
Pina, who was left alone with the boy while his mother was working,
told police he shook him to "shut him up" because he wouldn't stop
crying for his mother.

Pina had been dating Elias' mother about six months, but she said she
was unaware he had a history of domestic violence, which included a
domestic-battery charge in 2003 in which he was accused him of
grabbing his estranged wife by the neck and throwing her to the floor,
records show. The charge was dropped after Pina agreed to a year's
probation and counseling, records show.

Pina has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse
and aggravated child neglect.

Marlene St. Germain, a senior supervisor with the Department of
Children & Families in Riviera Beach, said too often she has seen
mothers put their children at risk, but they simply aren't looking for
red flags.

"A lot of times they're not aware of the [criminal] history," St.
Germain said.

If a mothers has low self-esteem, it might contribute to the problem
as well. Many women's opinions of themselves come into play when they
let a potentially dangerous man into their home, she said.

"I think if they were more empowered and if they had better
self-esteem, they would not search for it someplace else," St. Germain
said.

Elias' case is particularly poignant because his mother, who is
homeless and is trying to save enough for an apartment, typically
placed him in day care while she worked. In an encounter with
child-welfare workers a few months earlier, investigators praised her
for her ability to navigate the social services system.

"Mother is extremely protective of child," an investigator wrote in a
December 2004 report examining the cause of scratches and scars on the
boy's body. "Mother shows great initiative by tapping into the various
resources in this county. Child has shelter, Medicaid and child care."

The investigator determined the past injuries were caused by an
aggressive puppy and closed the case a month later.

Jane Garcia-Deale, a nurse and medical team coordinator for the Child
Protection Team in Palm Beach County, which brings together experts in
detecting child abuse and neglect, said she's not surprised by the
recent cases. For the past six years, she said, she has seen the level
of abuse and neglect in the county escalate.

"They don't feed the kids, they're not giving them their medications,
they don't give them their shots," she said. "We have parents who stop
giving children formula at 6 months. They can't afford the milk or
[some] are doing drugs with the money."

Instead, she said, they mix water with coffee creamer and then the
baby becomes malnourished.

Paramours, she said, often are involved.

An analysis of 161 deaths over five years in the 2003 Florida Child
Abuse Death Review Report, which examines the deaths of children known
by the child-welfare system to be at risk, supports her perception.
While mothers were involved or responsible for a child's death 36
percent of the time, most of those deaths were caused by neglect.

But when a child dies violently, typically the father or a boyfriend
is to blame, the data show. Overall, fathers were involved or
responsible for 24 percent of those 161 deaths. Boyfriends: 20
percent.

"Every year is just getting worse and worse," Garcia-Deale said. "It's
not just slapping the kid, it's killing them."

Staff Researcher Barbara Hijeck contributed to this report, and
material from The Associated Press was used to supplement the report.

Shana Gruskin can be reached at or
561-243-6537.

Copyright =A9 2005, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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491580.story?
page=3D2&coll=3Dsfla-news-palm
=20
Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age 18