Tortured kids of Arizona cry out for lifeline

Tortured kids of Arizona cry out for lifeline

http://www.azcentral.com/news/column...berts1117.html

Nov. 17, 2007 12:00 AM
We now know why 12-year-old Trenay Duchane was beaten, scalded and left
to die on her bedroom floor.

She didn't clean her room.

We now know why Treshae Duchane was left for days in that one-bedroom
apartment with her sister's body, injured and traumatized beyond
anything most of us can imagine.




Daddy just didn't give a damn.

Daddy isn't alone.

Fifty children in this state died of abuse in 2005, the last year for
which numbers are available. That's nearly one dead child a week, most
of them not yet 5 years old. The numbers for 2006 should be out any day
now, but I'm confident we'll exceed last year's record. We always do.

Meanwhile, the Legislature convenes in 58 days, with a $600 million
deficit and a crying need for do far more - not less - to protect kids.

Heavy emphasis on the word: crying.

"It's one of the worst cases of homicide that I've ever been involved
with," said Phoenix Sgt. Andy Hill, a cop for 24 years.

According to court records, Trenay evidently angered her "stepmother,"
25-year-old Reiko Troupe on Nov. 6 because the girl didn't clean her
room. So, of course, Troupe ordered the girl into the tub and turned on
the hot water.

Nine-year-old Treshae would later tell police that she heard her sister
screaming that day as she scrambled to escape the scalding water. She
said Troupe then whipped the girl with an electrical cord (and a
broomstick, according to police) and trapped her against the wall,
punching her in the face until she passed out.

Meanwhile, Daddy comes home, finds his daughter dead or dying and does,
well, nothing. For the next few days, Jeffery Duchane, 34, would go to
work, leaving Treshae with the body of her sister. (Troupe had by then
departed.) On Nov. 10, he finally called police. This, because his
daughter's body was beginning to smell.

Police found Trenay dead and Treshae cowering in the shower, nursing
bruises, burns and a broken arm. That's on the outside. The most
devastating injuries are often the ones that can't be seen.

We don't yet know whether we could have done something to protect Trenay
and Treshae. A Child Protective Services spokeswoman said the agency had
no reports that Duchane or Troupe had abused the girls but added that a
summary of its involvement with Trenay will be released in a week or two.

What we do know is that the Legislature soon will return to the Capitol,
where our leaders will see a long-overdue proposal to make CPS more
transparent and therefore more accountable for what it does - and
doesn't do. Along with that should come more money so that this
shamefully underfunded agency can do a better job.

That'll be a tough sell in a tight-budget year. It shouldn't be. All
they need to do is remember Trenay, gone now, and her 9-year-old sister,
left to live with unspeakable memories.

And 4-year-old Ariana Payne, her battered body found in February,
stuffed into a storage tub. And Ariana's brother Tyler, 5, whose body is
believed to be out there somewhere, in a landfill.

All they need do is remember 5-year-old Brandon Williams, beaten to
death in March, and Gregory Friederich, who died in August at the ripe
old age of 2 months, having endured a fractured skull, two broken ribs
and a lacerated liver. And Chloe Chance, 3, killed in January.

All they need to do ask for a picture of 4-month-old Daniel Bechtel,
found dead in a baby swing in April. At 4 pounds, little Daniel looked
as if he'd endured the Holocaust.

In truth, he'd just endured life as a child in Arizona.



Reach Roberts at or 602-444-8635.
Read her blog at robertsblog.azcentral.com.






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...