students of physics. Theres hardly a night I dont dream about the department, she told me. Still, Mondays events nagged at Garcia. Neither Rodriguez nor Bom thought the bruise warranted a doctors visit or Gabriels removal from the home, though they did ask Pearl and her boyfriend to undergo drug testing the next day, because of Garcias report that Gabriel had demonstrated how to snort cocaine. Murder 24/7: Who narrates murder 24/7 on BBC2? When the paramedics arrived, Ezequiel guided them wordlessly inside. Gabriel had a fractured skull, fractured ribs, BB pellets lodged in his chest and pelvic region, and a penetrating burn above his groin. Everyone in the office knew that Palmdale had its share of caseworkers whom no one would choose to look after endangered children. Rodriguez told her that confidentiality rules prevented her from saying. The card was shaped like a house and said Open the door to see who loves you. He pasted his picture inside. Whether he tried or even had time to follow up on this claim is unknown. Baghdad Central: How does the series differ from the original book? All six episodes of The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez are available to stream and download on Netflix now. In her notes, she reported that shed observed the children to be appropriately dressed, visibly healthy, and did not have any marks or bruises., The following week, Garcia made multiple calls about Gabriels haircut and busted lip. Multiple calls had been made to the child-abuse hotline, but a caseworker ended the investigation after Anthony recanted his claims of abuse. Merritt told me she was a little bit of a burnout case but good enough. Others remember her less favorably. On November 26th, 2012 Gabriel showed up to class late. Prosecutors argued that only Merritt and Clement asserted that they were not officers, but the panel chose to apply the same standard to all four defendants, arguing that there was no reason to apply the law differently. The next day, Pearl Fernandezs attorneys proposed a deal to accept life in prison without the possibility of parole or appeal if the prosecution would agree to drop its push for the death penalty. The disclosed employee information includes last name, first name, middle initial name, position title, department, fiscal year, earnings and benfits. Their case marks one of the few times social worked have been charged in a child abuse case in the US. vs. LA County, Scalp, Face, Neck, Ears and Shoulder Injuries Documented at Trial (diagam). When it was time to leave at 5 oclock, I left, whether I had a mound of paperwork in my cubicle or not. The job was hard, and one of the things that angered him most was when a subordinate worked unpaid hours. In June 2018, Lomeli sentenced Isauro Aguirre to death for the boys first-degree murder and a special circumstance allegation of murder involving torture. They didnt understand what they saw. In 2018, after Pearl and Isauros sentencing, prosecutors opened an investigation into the four social workers who had been assigned to Gabriels case. Dixon claimed she did report an allegation of sexual abuse by someone outside the home. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. Nor did she ever interview Gabriel or his siblings alone, as is required by department policy because many children who fear additional abuse recant their stories if the perpetrator is present. The Second District California Appellate Court heard arguments from lawyers. In September 2018, Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli denied a motion to dismiss the charges, calling the young Palmdale boys death foreseeable.. Gabriel was absent the next day, and when he returned on Wednesday his hair was styled into a mohawk, which seemed normal enough. The Auditor-Controller discloses information about compensations paid to employees of Los Angeles County in the form of earnings and fringe benefits. Merritt, who is 62, had worked in the department for more than two decades. "The petitioners' actions here prevented the system from working in whatever way it might have had they done their jobs honestly, and offers no incentive for either DCFS or individual social workers to work to reform and repair the parts of the system that may fail the children it is intended to protect," Chaney wrote. All Information about Stefanie Rodriguez For Jennifer Garcia, the 201213 school year was off to a disappointing start. "We conclude that the petitioners never had the requisite duty to control the abusers and did not have care or custody of Gabriel for purposes of Penal Code section 273a, subdivision (a). She reported that Gabriels face and hands had bruises from strikes with a belt buckle. Pearl Fernandez admitted that shed hit him with the belt. The second best result is Stefanie Denise Rodriquez age 40s in Fort Worth, TX. His new address meant a new school, too. 2017 toyota corolla wheel torque specs stefanie rodriguez social worker now It destroyed my life.. But of that 60%, 37% reported losing money and 21% said their relationship with the borrower was harmed. In 2016, Stefanie Rodriguez and Patricia Clement, two former LA County social workers, as well as two supervisors, Kevin Bom and Gregory Merritt, were charged with one felony count each of child abuse and falsifying public records. The department was using it on parents who werent eligible instead of only low risk cases as intended. If. MyNewsLA.com wont sell your information and you can unsubscribe at any time. The educator said the boy appeared anxious about his homework and feared to go home sometimes. He had broken ribs. This time, the students didnt laugh. The other children were silent. She trusts that if she stays grounded and listens to her instincts and follows the departments rules and processes, she wont ever need to confront the details of Gabriels case or another like it. This information is according to Los Angeles County payrolls for the 2013 fiscal . For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Little Gabriel Fernandez died at the hand of his mother and stepdad, Gregory Merritt was a social worker involved in Gabriel's case, Netflix's The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez explores tragic reason behind his death, Pearl Fernandez and stepfather Isauro Aguirre, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). The call, which was recorded, felt awkward and intimidating: Garcia was still relatively new to teaching and wasnt sure whether this was the kind of thing she was supposed to reportshe didnt know Gabriels family and wondered whether she might be missing important context. be individuals with an LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), ACSW (Associate Clinical Social Workers), MSW (Master of Social Work), MFTs (Marriage and Family Therapist) and Licensed MFTs who practice therapy, case management and/or provide clinical assessments/treatment plans in community-based organizations, Regional Centers and hospitals . But Pearl noticed Martinez studying her son and abruptly grabbed Gabriel and his siblings and left, blocking Martinezs view of Gabriel on the way out. As time went on and new injuries kept appearing, I started to feel like nothing was happening (with the case), Garcia testified. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Over the years, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services has taken significant steps to mitigate risk and improve our capacity countywide in order to best serve vulnerable children and families and as a department we remain committed to ensuring that reform continues. They were informed of suicide notes written by Gabriel but they took no additional action. In that time, at least 143 children in Los Angeles County have died from abuse or neglect after having some prior history with DCFS.. DCFS has since made some vital improvements: It has hired more than 1,000 additional caseworkers, provided staffers with much-needed smartphones, introduced new training methods, and tightened the standards for acceptance into the Voluntary Family Maintenance program. We conclude that the petitioners never had the requisite duty to control the abusers and did not have care or custody of Gabriel for purposes of Penal Code section 273a, subdivision (a). He died on May 24, 2013, and in 2018, Pearl and Isauro were found guilty of first-degree murder with an additional special circumstance of intentional murder by torture. You do it like this, he said, holding his nostril as if he were snorting a line. Pearl sat quickly, fidgeting and rubbing her nose. She delivered her testimony with plaintive wails and required frequent recesses to gather herself. This one guy was talking to himself all the time. Merritt assumed he was mentally ill. He lied because whenever a social worker would visit his punishments would increase. Statistical mechanics is the theory underlying condensed matter physics. I still have nightmares. Please contact the developer of this form processor to improve this message. A motion to appeal the 2nd District Court of Appeals decision was denied in January 2020. In a short conversation, Rodriguez told me that during the time she supervised Gabriels welfare, other children in her caseload seemed to her to be in equal or greater danger. Anchor | Reporter . We have been six years fighting this battle," says the boy's cousin Olivia Rubio. The sheer number of rules caused many workers to consider them just suggestions that no human could ever fully absorb. They asked the lawyer representing the L.A. County District Attorney about the term "duty," and the liability of workers. He had BB pellets embedded in his body - "in his neck, face, lung, legs, buttocks, foot, chest and groin." Debates over child-protective services often scramble traditional political divisions, and Casey Family Programs, which has championed a number of progressive causes, had powerful political allies in religious conservatives, who pushed George W. Bushs administration to limit government intrusion on parental authority. In a series of conversations over the past year, Merritt told me that for months he was so crippled by guilt and shame over his role in Gabriels case that he rarely left the house. Usually, promoting a case meant petitioning a judge to mandate services such as rent stipends or anger-management classes for parents, or seeking a judges approval to place the child in foster care. Garcia called Rodriguez and left yet another message. Stefanie's work & advice has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Cosmopolitan, Glamour and Oprah Magazine. Other Benefits, Short Disability Insurance and Dependent & Health Care Spending Accounts. She became a caseworker in her 50s, after spending much of her career as a counselor at the church where her husband was a pastor. Gabriel Fernandez: What happened to Gabriel Fernandezs parents? Dixons boss, Michael Bailey, allegedly told her not to report the abuse and later, supervisors told her not to cooperate with police regarding his death. This investigation was ongoing when Gabriel died. (In 2013, Los Angeles County had roughly 3,000 caseworkers and more than 200,000 calls to its child-abuse hotline.). He had internal injuries, including a lacerated liver. On March 26th, 2013 therapist intern Barbara Dixon filed a report that Gabriel claimed a relative forced him to perform oral sex on them. Scalp, Face, Neck, Ears and Shoulder Injuries Documented at Trial (diagam) | Autopsy Injury Diagram (drawing). Martinez ultimately asked to be transferred to another office. This book is designed for the courses in solid state physics for B.Sc. They recommended the death penalty. An arrest warrant filed March 28 identifies the four Los Angeles social workers as Stefanie Rodriguez, 30, Patricia Clement, 65, Kevin Bom, 36, and Gregory Merritt, 60. The county medical examiner who performed his autopsy told the grand jury that he had never witnessed so many skin injuries on a child. When Gabriel came to the agencys attention, the chances of an abused child being placed in foster care were lower than theyd been in many years. Social workers spoke, on average, with fewer than two witnessesneighbors, friends, school officials, health-care providersalthough the departments policy required that they interview at least three. Is it normal for you to bleed?. Advocates for family preservation have at times lamented that they lacked the kind of horror stories that could galvanize support for their position. A motion to rehear the appeals court decision was denied in January 2020 and the criminal case against these four is not progressing further. The Pharmacist on Netflix: Whats the shocking true story. Merritt assigned supervision of Gabriels case to a member of his team named Pat Clement, who would become the fourth person from the agency to face criminal charges. She remembered how hard hed worked on it, even after she told him he didnt have to. If Merritt and his colleagues had dug deeper, or simply paid closer attention to what they already knew, they might have uncovered the familys secret: that Gabriel spent days and nights with a sock in his mouth, shoelaces knotted around his hands, a bandanna shrouding his face, handcuffs locking his ankles, trapped inside a cabinet in his mothers bedroom. + Add or change photo on IMDbPro . This in addition to other instances of violent physical, mental, and emotional child abuse. Youd see people in the office that made you wonder, Wow, how did they get through the gates? Merritt told me. Martinez called his own supervisor and was told the same: Thats not your job. She knewas so many of the schools staff members knewthat Gabriel was in danger at home. All four were fired from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services after an internal investigation into the boy's May 24, 2013 death. Stefanie Rodriguez. Social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, 34, and Patricia Clement, 69, were charged along with two supervisors, Kevin Bom, 40, and Gregory Merritt, 64, with one felony count each of child abuse and falsifying public records. Despite the softwares assessment, Merritt had recently signed off on a request to close the case, satisfied that Gabriel was safe. I wanted to go there and hold his hand and say, Youre going to be okay. They just couldnt wrap their heads around it, she told me. In January 2020 California 2nd District Court of Appeals threw out the charges against the four former social workers. 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