Then the department moved on.. The question today is whether the felony counts against four social workers will be dismissed, reduced or stand. About STEFANIE M GUERRERO . If found guilty, they will be among the first caseworkers from a child-welfare agency to go to prison for their lapses on the job. Garcia called Rodriguez again, despite the odd sense of complicity she now felt after hearing that her efforts only made things worse. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive. This button displays the currently selected search type. May 21, 2022 . In July 2015, according to Los Angeles Times, prosecutors looked into giving both Fernandez and Aguirre the death penalty to repent for their horrific actions. See full bio More at IMDbPro Contact Info: View agent, publicist, legal on IMDbPro Known For Phil the Alien Young Madame Madame 2004 Hide all | | Edit Filmography Hide Actress (1 credit) 2004 Phil the Alien Click images at your own discretion. Little round bruises dotted his face. She enjoys both developing curriculum for caregivers and delivering it in the classroom and online. With Pearl again present, Gabriel said that the little bruises on his face had formed after he fell while playing tag with his brother and sister. The mother and her boyfriend were convicted of the torture murder. Case dismissed against social workers charged in death of . Yet time and again, they failed to intervene. She left a career in genetic res On the wall behind the jury box, dark oily blotches had formed over the years behind the heads of countless weary jurors. The Second District California Appellate Court heard arguments from lawyers representing Kevin Bom, Stefanie Rodriguez, Gregory Merritt and Patricia Clement. But when she told Steve Reid, the caseworker who answered, about the belt buckle and the blood, he said, Okay. Patricia Clement and Stefanie Rodriguez were discovered to be two of the social workers who had neglected their responsibility. I thought Gabriel would benefit. So she agreed to accept his case rather than urging Rodriguez to take it to courta decision that has haunted her ever since. Shortly after Gabriels birth in 2005, he went to live with his maternal grandmother, because Pearl did not want Gabriel and had no love for him. The card was shaped like a house and said Open the door to see who loves you. He pasted his picture inside. Merritt started going back through the notes on his computer, and saw that Gabriels first-grade teacher had, in fact, regularly called one of Merritts colleaguesa young caseworker named Stefanie Rodriguezwith disturbing reports. Other Benefits, Short Disability Insurance and Dependent & Health Care Spending Accounts. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. 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. If he didnt beat Gabriel, Pearl and Isauro would threaten him, so he would whisper to Gabriel to fall quickly so he didnt have to hit him as much. Martinez called his own supervisor and was told the same: Thats not your job. The server responded with {{status_text}} (code {{status_code}}). Prosecutors allege Rodriguez and later Clement the latter took on the case after Garcia was shot in the face falsifiedrecords. On file we have 129 email addresses and 83 phone numbers associated with Stefanie in area codes such as 813, 347, 718, 281, 256, and 32 other area codes. His eyes were swollen, his face dotted with bruises. vs. LA County, Scalp, Face, Neck, Ears and Shoulder Injuries Documented at Trial (diagam). invisible stranding in knitting. When social workers interviewed him about that allegation, Pearl was present, and Gabriel took back each of his stories. Would it be fair to say that you dont want to remember? the prosecutor, Jon Hatami, asked at one point. He said his mother and her boyfriend would threaten him if he didnt join in their beatings. OPEN GOV US GOV US. Gabriels attendance was sporadic. The position title is CHILDREN'S SOCIAL WORKER I. Its over now. But the operator wouldnt give her any information. ), First published on January 7, 2020 / 5:43 AM. Garcia didnt know what to say to Gabriel. She delivered her testimony with plaintive wails and required frequent recesses to gather herself. The two 29-year-old women locked eyes in uneasy silence. "There is, therefore, no probable cause to hold them on charges of violating those laws and the trial court should have granted the motions to dismiss," the opinion continued. Of this total $30,591 was received as a salary, $2,687 was received as overtime pay, $11,113 was received as benefits and $5,272 came from other types of compensation . Social workers Stefanie Rodriguez and Patricia Clement, as well as their supervisors, Kevin Bom and Gregory Merritt, were each charged with one felony count of child abuse and one felony. She knewas so many of the schools staff members knewthat Gabriel was in danger at home. I got light-headed, she said. READ MOREGabriel Fernandez: What happened to Gabriel Fernandezs parents? He tended to see hope where others saw a lost cause. It will always be Gabriel's number. Some of Merritts colleagues were so ashamed of the departments reputation that they avoided telling people what they did for a living. To fill it, the department required new recruits to start thereincluding Stefanie Rodriguez, who sat in a cubicle within earshot of Merritt. An autopsy showed that Gabriel had a fractured skull, several broken ribs and burns over much of his body. Shed sometimes find him crying at the end of the day, saying he didnt want to go home. She stated that on two occasions, Gabriel himself asked her, Can you call that lady? The court stated: Although there may be consequences to social workers who fail to fulfil their duties, the consequences do not include criminal liability for child abuse., In the documentary, Merrit said: Those of us who were working the case seems to have done what we could have done. Rodriguez visited the familys apartment, but again Gabriel recanted. MARIA EVELYN RODRIGUEZ-ZIERER (NPI# 1801829239) is a health care provider registered in Centers for Medicare & Medicaid . The Auditor-Controller of Los Angele County provides financial leadership and expert advice on a wide range of fiscal matters and advocates for financial integrity and accountability in all County business practices, and also develops financial policies and guidelines for departmental operations and issues checks to vendors, employees, child support payments, judgments and damages and other claims against the County, as well as other financial responsibilities. She was a ticking time bomb, Teresa Linn Stanley, a caseworker who once worked side by side with Clement, told me. To this day, Jennifer Garcia reserves the #28 in her classroom. Martinez told Pearl to quiet down. As Garcia started reviewing Gabriels progress, his mother blurted, I dont hit my kids.. One week before his death, Gabriels school, Summerwind Elementary, asked a sheriffs deputy to investigate, but he received the wrong address. Following the caretakers' convictions, four social workers in the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (Stefanie Rodriguez, 34, and Patricia Clement, 69, and two. One day in late October, about two weeks after hed started at school, Gabriel tugged on her side in the middle of class. I could hardly walk. Stefanie Rodriguez, 32, Patricia Clement, 66, Kevin Bom, 37, and Gregory Merritt, 61, were fired from their jobs following an internal investigation into the May 24, 2013, death of Gabriel. Is it normal for you to bleed?. Garcia was telling him he was lucky his mother loved himnot everyone had thatwhen Gabriel chimed in. This one guy was talking to himself all the time. Merritt assumed he was mentally ill. Advocates for family preservation have at times lamented that they lacked the kind of horror stories that could galvanize support for their position. This time, Garcia didnt ask what had happened. Social workers Patricia Clement, left, and Stefanie Rodriguez, third from left, and supervisors Kevin Bom, second from right, and Gregory Merritt, fourth from right, who were charged with. MORE: Palmdale woman, boyfriend sentenced in 8-year-old's torture killing. Gabriel died in May 2013 and his mother and her boyfriend were later convicted of torturing and murdering him. He then asked if it was normal for moms to hit kids with a belt buckle and make you bleed. Hed been living with his maternal grandparents, with whom he was close, but his mother, Pearl Fernandez, wanted Gabriels welfare benefits, so she brought him to live with her for the first time in his life, over his grandparents strenuous objections. Pearl abandoned her youngest child, Destiny, and lost custody of a son older than Gabriel, named Arnold Jr. y then, Gabriels siblings later testified, he was spending almost all of his days and nights in the cubby. Ezequiel said he sometimes tried to crack open the padlocked door to sneak Gabriel a banana. Ezequiel, who was now 16, had a faint mustache and a face shaped like Gabriels. {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}Your submission failed. She was convicted of using a weapon in a reckless manner and sentenced to two weeks in a Texas jail. His testimony lasted hours; he was unable to recall many details and had to constantly refer to transcripts of prior testimony. Its not part of your duties.. Stefanie Rodriguez. How do you prioritize your spending when you have debt and dreams for the future? Lets talk about this at recess., When recess came, he pressed on: Is it normal for your mom to hit you with the part of the belt that has that metal thing on the end?, Yeah, he said. Patricia Clement and Stefanie Rodriguez were discovered to be two of the social workers who had neglected their responsibility. The announcement that they faced criminal charges had come as a shock. Gabriel would cry at the end of the day because he didnt want to go home. By the departments own count, since Gabriels death, at least 143 children in Los Angeles County have died from abuse or neglect after having some prior history with DCFS. It was stated that there was no probable cause connected to child abuse or falsifying documents in a 2-to-1 opinion. Prosecutors are holding four Los Angeles County social workers criminally responsible and have charged them with child abuse. The information disclosed includes compensations paid to employees of Los Angeles County in the form of earnings and fringe benefits. It is this [workers] assessment that mother is overwhelmed with her own emotional pain, she is unwilling to continue counseling at this time, Clement wrote. Ultimately, the social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, 34, and Patricia Clement, 69, and two supervisors, Kevin Bom, 40, and Gregory Merritt, 64, all faced charges in connection with the death of Gabriel, with prosecutors alleging they minimized evidence of Gabriel's abuse. According to DCFSs internal investigation, neither Rodriguez nor Bom reviewed the information related to these calls. By creating this job alert, you agree to the LinkedIn User Agreement and Privacy Policy. Required fields are marked *. . 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. Stefanie Rico, Registered Social Worker, Toronto, ON, M4V, (647) 492-8197, Stefanie works with youth and adults experiencing diverse mental health needs, most often supporting individuals in the . View Stefanie Rodriguez's business profile as Collection Manager at GBMC HealthCare. Near the end of January, Garcia was reading to a group of students when the door opened. Palmdale consistently ranked last on the list of places agency employees wanted to be. Some of his teeth had been knocked out. This information is according to Los Angeles County payrolls for the 2013 fiscal . Children were interviewed alone in only two-thirds of cases. Bom had managed to start a new career as a custody evaluator in divorce cases, but he lost that job after the criminal charges were filed. Gabriels teacher Ms Garcia contacted the organisation several times, reporting Gabriels injuries and behaviour. You survived. Evidence at trial indicated months of beatings and torture. Before calling 911, Pearl and her boyfriend, Isuaro Aguirre cleaned up their apartment. Former colleagues told me he now mows lawns. Pearl and Aguirre eventually called 911. They did ask Pearl and Isauro to take a drug test after the Red Ribbon Week incident, but the results were negative. Call or Email Stefanie Vitale now - (919) 374-4292. Your email address will not be published. We have 122 records for Stefanie Rodriguez ranging in age from 28 years old to 51 years old. Her supervisor, Kevin Bom, a 33-year-old who was seen as a rising star in the department, would approve every key decision she made and sign off on all her reports. Stefanie's work & advice has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Cosmopolitan, Glamour and Oprah Magazine. They didnt understand what they saw. 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