Albuquerque, NM -- 14-year-old girl testifies against foster father

Albuquerque girl testifies against foster father

By Joline Gutierrez Krueger (Contact)
Originally published 07:45 a.m., October 25, 2007
Updated 10:57 a.m., October 25, 2007

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/oct...foster-father/

The words came hard, the 14-year-old girl's cerebral palsy evident in
the way her uncooperative muscles contorted around the sounds she eked
out, her upheld arms bent and twisting like broken wings.

The tears came more easily when the curly-haired girl in pink poncho and
wheelchair uttered the name of the man prosecutors say reached under her
diaper and sexually molested her.

"Michael," she said, breaking down in one of the more dramatic moments
Wednesday, the opening day of the sex abuse trial against the girl's
former foster father, Michael Esquivel.

The 57-year-old Albuquerque man was originally charged with two counts
of criminal sexual penetration involving his severely disabled foster
daughter while she was in his and his wife's care between September 2002
and January 2003.

At the prosecuton's request, the charges were reduced today to two
counts of criminal sexual contact.

The girl, who is not being named to protect her identity, turned 10
while she lived in the Esquivels' North Valley home. Prosecutors say she
disclosed the abuse to her twin sister but only after she left the home
to live with her grandparents in February 2003.

The girl's mother then reported the allegation to a social worker with
the state Children, Youth and Families Department, but the social worker
inexplicably did not report the allegation.

A second social worker reported the allegations on March 16, 2003.

On Wednesday, the girl said she did not say anything earlier because she
was scared.

But Esquivel's attorney, Daniel Cron, argued that the girl not only had
never disclosed any abuse while with the Esquivels but had not shown any
sign of sexual molestation or fear to social workers, a therapist, a
treatment coordinator and a teaching assistant involved in her care then.

"It was obvious to everyone that they liked each other," Cron said of
the relationship between Esquivel and the girl he called his "princess."

Cron, in opening arguments Wednesday, suggested that the allegations
against his client were the retaliatory fantasies of the girl's mother,
Theresa Sedillo, who had threatened to kill herself and file lawsuits
against the parties responsible for her losing custody of her daughter.

Sedillo, he said, had also prophesied loud enough for the girl and her
sister to hear that "if you put (the girl) into foster care she's going
to be molested."

Sedillo and the girl's twin sister were expected to take the stand
today. The prosecution will rest its case afterward.

The case is being heard in the courtroom of state District Judge Neil
Candelaria in Albuquerque.

Wednesday's testimony centered on whether Esquivel had inappropriately
touched the girl's genital area, but the girl gave conflicting and often
unintelligible answers, including whether he had touched her over or
under her clothing and whether he had touched her on her front or back.

The girl seemed to damage her own case by testifying that Esquivel had
touched her over her clothing or that she didn't remember.

The girl did remember Esquivel saying "I love you" as he touched her and
that she responded, "Please stop, I don't like that."

Both Cron and Deputy District Attorney Lisa Trabaudo had to repeat what
the girl said to make sure her tortured words were understood - the
translations of which were occasionally refuted by the opposing party.

The girl refuted Cron's recollection of their previous interview that
she had said Esquivel touched her on her back "butt," saying Wednesday
that he had touched her in front, though still referring to that area as
her "butt."

Testimony was interrupted twice when the girl appeared distraught, tired
or irritated by the questioning.

Cerebral palsy renders the girl a spastic quadriplegic, but while she
has difficulty with speech and muscle control she functions at a normal
cognitive level, court documents state.

"(The girl) knows that what Mr. Esquivel did to her was wrong," Trabaudo
said.

The girl has since been adopted by another family and has no contact
with her mother, she said.



CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA
WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.


CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...


BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...