A 23-year old Anaheim man allegedly logged onto Facebook using a profile of a male high school-age student. He would then use the account to persuade underage girls to send him sexually-explicit photos and videos, which he would then use as blackmail, threatening to forward those photos on to other high school students if the girl did not agree to send more. He is alleged to have contacted at least six girls in this manner.
What to do when Social Services has been called—
You and your husband were arguing the other night. Neighbors called the police. The police told you that they had to arrest one of you and he chose you. You’ve bailed out of jail, you’ve contacted an experienced Orange County domestic violence or criminal defense attorney, you are prepared for court and then you come home and there it is out of left field- a business card left on your door from the Department of Child and Family Services with a note that you must call a social worker. You call as instructed and are told that “your social worker” needs to investigate “your case.”
In February, Joe Hundley was aboard a flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta to pay a final visit to his brain-dead son in the hospital and take him off of life support. He had not slept the previous night and was consuming alcohol as a method of coping with the pain and stress of the situation.
He was seated next to Jessica Bennett, who was holding her 19-month old son on her lap. When the flight made its final descent to Atlanta, Bennett’s son began crying. Hundley became agitated and allegedly leaned over to Bennett and told her to “shut that (N-word) baby up.” He repeated the phrase to Bennett before reportedly slapping the child on the face, leaving a scratch below his right eye.
Police were contacted in February, 2011 about a foul animal odor coming from a house on their street. Officers arrived to the overpowering smell of urine and feces. Besides the floor and other surfaces soaked with cat urine and droppings, the house was infested with both fleas and flies.
The officers entered the home wearing masks, but had to leave upon feeling ill and returned with full hazmat body suits and respirators. They found two children in the home, one who used a couch as a bed, with at least one child having scratches on her arms and legs. Two adults had cat feces on their feet as a result of walking barefoot in the home.
In a recent juvenile delinquency case, a minor stole a car and damaged it beyond repair, rendering it a total loss for insurance purposes. After admitting to the crime, the juvenile court granted Deferred Entry of Judgment (DEJ), meaning that the case would be dismissed provided the minor complete the terms of probation, which in this case included restitution, or paying the owner of the car for damages.
The court ordered the minor pay $13,000 in damages to the car owner, along with $2,000 in interest on the car loan as part of this restitution. After the criminal defense attorney filed an appeal to challenge the $2,000 interest portion, the court surprisingly denied the appeal. The reason it was denied was because there is no way to appeal a DEJ order, and the restitution is considered part of it.
In 2011, Elizabeth Escalona, a 23-year old mother of five, allegedly attacked 2-year old daughter Jocelyn due to potty training problems. She kicked her in stomach, beat her with a milk jug, and glued her hands to an apartment wall with super glue, according to information brought at trial.
Jocelyn suffered brain bleeding, a fractured rib, bruises, and bite marks, according to doctor’s testimony. Some skin had been torn off her hands as a result of the glue. Glue residue was found on her hands, along with paint chips from the apartment wall. The girl was left in a coma for several days following her injuries. Jocelyn and her four siblings are now living in the protective care of their grandmother.
When a person is convicted of a sex crime, he or she is often required to register with that state’s sex offender registry. This registry is often made public and includes details of the individual’s crime(s), physical characteristics, and street address. Megan’s Law, as this is referred to, was enacted in response to the 1994 murder of 7-year old Megan Kanka. She was raped and murdered by a convicted sex offender who moved into a house across the street from the family without their knowledge.
Sex offender registration in many states is mandatory, and inclusion on the list often restricts an individual’s ability to obtain gainful employment, especially in professions involving children. Beyond that, cities impose their own ordinances regarding activities banned from sex offenders. In Orange County, sex offenders are banned from surfing at the Huntington Beach pier, fishing in Dana Point harbor, and accessing public parks in Mission Viejo. In Ventura suburb Simi Valley, an ordinance has been established prohibiting sex offenders from decorating their homes and giving away candy on Halloween.
The Orange County register reports that a Laguna Niguel resident was arrested for drinking and having sex with her son’s underage friends since 2005. The woman, a 45-year old mother of three, is reportedly a “hockey mom” who allegedly met some of her son’s teammates during a sleepover at her home.
When interviewed by sheriff’s detectives, the woman first denied the allegations, but finally admitted to having sex with the older boy. She insists that she thought the older of the two boys was 18, like her son. He turned out to be 16. The woman’s Orange County criminal defense attorney insisted that she was going through a tumultuous divorce at the time, but that she wasn’t pursuing the boy. He also stated that the woman rebuffed the advances of the younger 13-year old.
The Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) was created by the California Legislature in 1965 and is maintained by the California Department of Justice (CDOJ). In an effort to protect the health and safety of children in the state, individuals against whom issues of child neglect or abuse were reported and found to be substantiated are included on the CACI. As of 2011, it contained names of about 850,000 people who were suspected of physical, sexual, metal or emotional abuse and/or neglect of a minor.
People on this list have not necessarily been convicted of a crime, but surprisingly, until 2012, even people who were the subjects of investigations with unsubstantiated findings were likewise included on this list as a possible child abuser.
This headline stopped me dead in my tracks: “Couple Let Baby Starve to Death While Raising Virtual Baby Online”. What? Wait- WHAT?! The tragedy of Korean couple Kim Yoo-chul, 41 and Choi Mi-sun, 25 has made headlines all over the world. CNN reports that the couple let their real daughter starve to death while playing a virtual-reality game where they raised a virtual daughter in 12-hour on-line sessions at a local internet cafe. “The couple seemed to have lost their will to live a normal life because they didn’t have jobs and gave birth to a premature baby, Chung Jin-Won, a police officer, told the Korean press. “They indulged themselves in the online game of raising a virtual character so as to escape from reality, which led to the death of their real baby.” The couple are likely facing charges of child abuse, child neglect and homicide.
Like most people I was perplexed by such recklessness. As a mother, I simply can’t imagine what would compel a parent to neglect a baby so drastically. But, as a criminal defense attorney who has represented many parents in criminal child abuse or child neglect cases, there are a few things troubling about this story. First and foremost, there’s no allegation that the baby was ever left unsupervised.
The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog