A 4-year-old Guatemalan boy is on the brink of death after allegedly being beaten by his adoptive mother in Los Angeles.
The minor remains connected to a medical team in intensive care.
His aunt, María Jacinto, says that he was taken unconscious to the hospital and that he has not awakened.
"They told us that the probability of his survival was none," he said at a press conference on Monday.
Jacinto, the first cousin of his biological mother, said the boy was in the care of an adoptive family by order of Los Angeles County, and said they plan to sue the county.
[Authorities find Christopher, the 3-year-old boy who disappeared in Texas, alive]
"No child deserves this, in no case, under the care of anyone,"
lamented Jacinto, "we are only asking for justice and information."
Latino father who lost son at Astroworld festival says how he wants to be remembered
Nov. 9, 202101: 52
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department responded on October 28 to a case of alleged physical abuse against a child under the age of 4 in the city of Norwalk, 19 miles from Los Angeles.
"The victim suffered serious injuries that led to his admission to the intensive care unit of a hospital, where
his condition remains critical
," the department said in a statement.
[The 9-year-old boy who survived the crushing at the Astroworld festival is in an induced coma]
A day later, her adoptive mother, Gabriela Casarez, was arrested for child abuse.
He faces three charges,
two for child abuse and one for assault resulting in coma or paralysis, and remains in the Los Angeles County jail on a $ 1.2 million bond.
After pleading not guilty on Friday, Casarez must return to the Norwalk court on December 6.
According to Alfonso Ortega, one of the lawyers, the family was not informed that the child had been the victim of abuse until the day after he entered the hospital.
Two minors among the eight fatalities of the stampede at the Houston Astroworld festival
Nov. 6, 202102: 59
"We have no evidence that he was with anyone other than this adoptive family, and there is clear evidence that he
was tortured and beaten that has left him in a coma
," Michel Adler, another of the lawyers.
"Like every parent, you are horrified beyond belief, because in the first place,
you don't understand how it happened, and two, why would anyone do this?"
added.
[This child was shot by a police officer, but it was another young man who ended up in jail. The agent was released ... and murdered his wife]
The minor lived with his adoptive mother since April, when his biological mother was removed.
Casarez was also in charge of the injured's younger brother, a 2-year-old boy.
The child in a coma was born in Guatemala and
speaks neither Spanish nor English
, according to Ortega.
"They speak in dialect," says his aunt, who assures that the two brothers do not have an interpreter: "How are they going to speak, how are they going to defend themselves," he laments.
The Los Angeles County Department of Family and Services said they thoroughly investigate allegations of abuse and neglect by caregivers to ensure minors remain safe and substantiated allegations are quickly addressed in a court of law.
"State law protects the confidentiality of the records of all children and families that may have come to the attention of child protective services, and prohibits confirming or commenting on whether a child or family has been involved with the department," said the department in a statement.
"What they are afraid of is because one child is in the hospital and the other does not know where he is and they want answers," said Ortega.
"They're supposed to take them to be better," Jacinto said.
With information from
Telemundo 52
and the
Los Angeles Times.
