The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
A Florida couple has been accused of failing to seek needed dental attention for their daughter, and refusing to accept outreach offered to assist them in obtaining the treatment. Reports indicated that the parents neglected the child’s needs for close to two years before they were arrested.
When the young girl, whose age has been withheld, began the school year in August 2016 it was noticed that she had several rotten teeth causing her issues. The child complained to teachers about pain, and it was said that she was only able to eat soft foods.
Concerns about her oral health caused a school social worker to contact her parents and offer assistance in getting the child the care she needed. Medical permission slips granting consent for free dental work were sent home with the girl for signature, but her parents allegedly never returned them.
Six months later, in February, the Department of Children and Family Services began an investigation into circumstances of the girl’s tooth decay and lack of treatment provided. It was discovered that the child’s mother had taken her daughter to a doctor, to whom she had explained she had been turned away from the school’s on-site dental bus, as well as a dentist in the area, due to the advanced state of the oral decay.
The school continued attempting intervention and visited the parents, 32-year-old Cynthia Maloy and 31- year-old Jeremie Maloy, at their home on more than one occasion. Assistance such as setting up an appointment with a dentist and providing transportation were offered, but the couple allegedly did not accept.
By the end of October a second investigation was launched after it appeared that nothing had been done to address the girl’s teeth yet. Her adult teeth “had begun to grow in and overlap her rotten, ruptured teeth,” Bay County Sheriff’s Office reported.
After authorities discovered that the Maloy’s took no action after being informed their daughter would require 17 tooth extractions due to the decay, Cynthia and Jeremie Maloy were taken into custody on November 3 for one count of child neglect. The couple posted $1500 bonds and have been ordered to cease contact with their daughter.
If you or someone you love is suspected of child neglect, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.