The medics felt two fractures in Gabriels skull. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office had filed the charges of child abuse and falsifying records against social workers Stefanie Rodrigez, 35, and Patricia Clement, 59, as well as . "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). They claimed to have never found strong enough signs of abuse in order to remove Gabriel from the house. The question today is whether the felony counts against four social workers will be dismissed, reduced or stand. That would be reportable. She also told Reid that during Red Ribbon Week, when teachers talked about staying away from narcotics, Gabriel had announced that cocaine was a drug. His teacher testified that she called Rodriguez multiple times to report that Gabriel told her that his mother punched him and shot him in the face with a BB gun. I could hardly walk. Four Los Angeles County social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, 30; Patricia Clement, 65; Kevin Bom, 36; and Gregory Merritt, 60 have been charged with child abuse and falsifying public records . 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. They did ask Pearl and Isauro to take a drug test after the Red Ribbon Week incident, but the results were negative. He felt brushed off, judged. Why did you lie and tell me you fell?, When I tell you, and that lady comes, then I get hurt worse.. Gabriels eyes were swollen, and squinty like a cats. She said she had been assigned to investigate and told Garcia to call her directly if she noticed anything suspicious in the future. and M.Sc. She returned a few minutes later, saying she had been ordered not to get involved. He occasionally took books off the shelf, copied sentences in his own hand, and took them to Garcia. For other inquiries, Contact Us. Le Norgant also called 911, but the officer who visited the home left without even talking to Gabriel. After Jennifer Garcia called the hotline, it fell to Rodriguez to investigate and assess Gabriels safety. Gabriel was either tardy or absent a lot. But in October, after classes were already under way, word came that the school districts planning had once again failed to keep pace with Palmdales population boom. The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services sent a statement on Thursday responding to the dismissal of charges, which said: We respect the court's decision. Schlesinger has heard these stories before: "A baby boomer, who's maybe taken on their kids' debt and gotten their kids through college, but has come up short and is 60, 63 years old and says, I guess I'll just have to work forever," she says. His hair cut was awful and sloppy, and chunks of his scalp had scabbed over. Buy, sell, and rent smarter with Stefanie Rodriguez at Compass. About STEFANIE M GUERRERO . Find Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok profiles, images and more on IDCrawl - free people search website. As we sat in her living room, she told me that working for Merritt had made the job tolerable; he always had her back, and would encourage her to take a lunch break or work from home when he sensed that the pressures of the job were getting to her. [INFO]. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or . Then he turned back to his computerbecause, he says, life goes on, and I had work to do. Hed concluded long ago that some of the children who depended on the department would inevitably be injured, if not killed. The dismissal was long expected after an appellate panel ruled in January that the social workers should not face charges for failing to prevent the torture and killing of the Palmdale boy. He was hungry for Garcias attention and praise and would stay behind at recess to help her collate and staple papers. The Auditor-Controller discloses information about compensations paid to employees of Los Angeles County in the form of earnings and fringe benefits. Rodriguez never went to the school or talked to the neighbors. I still have nightmares. Administrators admit that prioritizing one of these goals over the other is a false choicetheyre supposed to be able to protect children in danger without unnecessarily splitting up families. 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. Find 181 people named Stefanie Rodriguez along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok profiles on PeekYou - true people search. 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. When social workers interviewed him about that allegation, Pearl was present, and Gabriel took back each of his stories. A go-to money expert, Stefanie has appeared on ABC World News, CBSN, Fox & Friends, Fox Business, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Dr Oz Show and various other print and digital media outlets. By contrast, Virginia, 14, appeared unable to escape her memories. Gabriel, by contrast, had a striking innocence. In an 2-1 opinion, the panel concluded that there was no probable cause to hold the two social workers and their supervisors on charges of child abuse and falsifying documents. One judge asked, "Were there any other charges that you could have brought?". Name. A red eye; his face, neck, and ear marked and bruised; his forehead skin was peeling. To fill it, the department required new recruits to start thereincluding Stefanie Rodriguez, who sat in a cubicle within earshot of Merritt. White House Farm killer played badminton and drew models in prison. She said yes because some parents spank their children, but asked him again about it at recess. The caseworker I shadowed was one of the new arrivals; she held the same job Stefanie Rodriguez had once had. On the wall behind the jury box, dark oily blotches had formed over the years behind the heads of countless weary jurors. News coverage of child fatalities has often been a catalyst for a renewed focus on safety: When a child dies at the hands of a guardian, an outraged public will demand more proactive interventions to prevent such a tragedy. By then, she and Bom had already decided to end the investigation; they saw no signs of danger or abuse. Gabriel was absent the next day, and when he returned on Wednesday his hair was styled into a mohawk, which seemed normal enough. Kevin Bom and Gregory Merritt were their supervisors on the case. I mean, everybody beats their kids. He called the number for nonemergencies and was later told that a sheriffs deputy had gone to Gabriels home but hadnt seen anything wrong. Like many others, shed wanted out of Palmdale for a long time, and she often talked about the business ventures she hoped would finance her escape: a vending-machine enterprise, an RV park. He had broken ribs. Netflix docu-series The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez tells the story of how he was tortured, and raised questions about the social system that was meant to protect him. 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. A motion to rehear the appeals court decision was denied in January 2020 and the criminal case against these four is not progressing further. He had a masters degree from the University of Southern Californias prestigious School of Social Work, and was known as a fastidious micromanager who marked up his subordinates notes with questions and correctionsall of which makes his handling of Gabriels case even more baffling. She remembered how hard hed worked on it, even after she told him he didnt have to. Gabriel told her he had fallen off his bike and begged her not to send him home early. Garcia says her interactions with Rodriguez began shortlyafter she suspected Gabriels mother was physically retaliating against him for his in-school misbehavior. Some of Merritts colleagues were so ashamed of the departments reputation that they avoided telling people what they did for a living. The least popular job in this least desirable place was also the most difficult and most important: child-abuse investigator. Still, Pearl received custody of Gabriel. It destroyed my life.. 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. Browning was also troubled that many of the parenting classes and counseling services the department relied on to prevent abuse had little evidence to support their efficacy. 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. Stephanie Rodriguez Social worker Greater Sacramento 7 followers 7 connections Join to view profile Department of Child, Family, and Adult Services Sonoma State University Experience Human. The position title is CHILDREN'S SOCIAL WORKER I. They asked the lawyer representing the L.A. County District Attorney about the term "duty," and the liability of workers. Virginia and Ezequiel, who now live with a relative in another state, asked Hatami to accept her plea; they didnt want to have to testify against her. Pearl ordered her 11-year-old daughter to help them clean blood off the floor. Find contact's direct phone number, email address, work history, and more. Stephanie Rodriguez. She delivered her testimony with plaintive wails and required frequent recesses to gather herself. That changed in 2001, with the case of Logan Marr, a 5-year-old girl from Maine whod been removed from her home by the states grossly interventionist child-protective-services agency. As time went on and new injuries kept appearing, I started to feel like nothing was happening (with the case), Garcia testified. Yet time and again, they failed to intervene. View our online Press Pack. abriel was often tardy or absent, and when he did make it to school, hed kick other studentsGarcia was constantly having to move his seat. The social worker Garcia contacted, Stefanie Rodriguez, 31, another social worker, Patricia Clement, 66, and two of their supervisors, Kevin Bom, 37, and Gregory Merritt, 61, are now facing charges of one felony count each of child abuse and falsifying records in relation to this case. He said he wouldnt hesitate to remove a child if he knew there to be true danger, but he also acknowledged that he recognized such situations less often than others did. He called 911, but the operator said the situation didnt sound like an emergency and gave him the number for nonemergencies. The case became the subject of a PBS documentary, and media attention made Logan a symbol of child-protective services overreach. Pearl sat quickly, fidgeting and rubbing her nose. Username. The seriousness of the charges appeared to concern the panel. White House Farm ending: Where are they now? 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. In his view, caseworkers should get more oversight, not less. 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Lauderdale, FL 33304, 259 Clermont Avenue, Lake Mary, FL 32746-3669, 8639 N Himes Ave Apt 3924, Tampa, FL 33614. Los Angeles County social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, Patricia Clement, Kevin Bom and Gregory Merritt, were charged with two felony counts in relation to the death of Fernandez on April 7,. It became his mantra. The series tracks what happened to eight-year-old Gabriel and the subsequent murder trial of his mother Pearl Fernandez and her partner, Isauro Aguirre. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. He was a devout Christian, and to him this wasnt just a job. Corona then gave Martinez the familys name and contact information, telling Martinez to save this kid. He called DCFS twice, but could not navigate the automated system. Actress. One week before his death, Gabriels school, Summerwind Elementary, asked a sheriffs deputy to investigate, but he received the wrong address. Garcia told him to sit down. Martinez called his own supervisor who explained that was not in his job description. MARIA EVELYN RODRIGUEZ-ZIERER (NPI# 1801829239) is a health care provider registered in Centers for Medicare & Medicaid . Judge Lomeli denied an automatic motion to reduce the jurys recommendation of a death sentence for Aguirre to life in prison without the possibility of parole, citing the repeated beating, binding, burning and starving of Gabriel. MyNewsLA.com wont sell your information and you can unsubscribe at any time. As a general rule, caseworkers worry most about children who arent seen by people outside the home. Dixon claimed she did report an allegation of sexual abuse by someone outside the home. Mistakes were inevitable when department leaders and county politicians gave workers so little support, she said. She didnt want to tell him everything would be okaythat felt like it might not be true. A few days later, Gabriel complained to Garcia that his eye was hurting, so she sent him to Donna Evans, the school nurse, who was brand-new in the job. Patricia Clement and Stefanie Rodriguez were discovered to be two of the social workers who had neglected their responsibility. Find Stefanie Rodriguez's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading people search directory for contact information and public records. I learned early on that if Im gonna be any good to my clients, I have to take care of myself, Merritt said. Mind your own business. We have been six years fighting this battle," says the boy's cousin Olivia Rubio. According to the next worker assigned to Gabriels case, Patricia Clement claimed that new abuse allegations were already being dealt with and that she was going to close the case because there were no concerns at the moment. 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. The charges against the four social workers will be dropped Thursday, the Los Angeles County district attorneys office said. We further conclude that the petitioners were not officers within the meaning of Government Code section 6200, wrote Justice Francis Rothschild. Allowing a social worker to evade liability for falsifying a public document would incentivize social workers to put their own interests in avoiding liability for their misdeeds above the purpose of the states child welfare statutory scheme, which is child safety, Chaney wrote in her concurring and dissenting opinion. Yet, despite the obvious and visible signs of abuse, documentation by both Rodriguez and Clement downplayed the injuries. Learn More{{/message}}, {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}It appears your submission was successful. Gabriel had a fractured skull, fractured ribs, BB pellets lodged in his chest and pelvic region, and a penetrating burn above his groin. 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. Rodriguez was able to answer the programs multiple-choice questions based almost entirely on information that had been logged into the agencys files before she began her investigation. On Monday, November 26, Gabriel arrived late. The Second District California Appellate Court heard arguments from lawyers representing Kevin Bom, Stefanie Rodriguez, Gregory Merritt and Patricia Clement. Villar also stated that the defendants should have documented Gabriel Fernandezs injuries and that their actions were incompatible with the proper regard for human life.. Payments of Excess and Unused Leave Time at Termination. His skin was almost yellow, like hes been starving or something.. Merritt, one of the. 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. He tended to see hope where others saw a lost cause. {{#message}}{{{message}}}{{/message}}{{^message}}Your submission failed. Did he ever have to eat anything weird? Hatami asked. In June 2018, Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli sentenced Isauro Aguirre to death for the boy's first-degree murder and a special circumstance allegation of murder involving torture. She was convicted of using a weapon in a reckless manner and sentenced to two weeks in a Texas jail. This time, the students didnt laugh. 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. Still, she agreed to let me interview her at her new home, on the edge of a golf course in Californias Coachella Valley desert. On May 23, 2013, this grim assembly line paused at Greg Merritts cubicle in the Palmdale branch office. 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. On January 29, 2013 Rodriguez made a final visit to Fernandezs home. Gabriel asked his teacher, Jennifer Garcia, if it was normal for moms to hit their kids. They each faced up to ten years in prison if found guilty. She recalls Rodriguez saying that Pearl Fernandez had once spanked Gabriel harshly but did not present an immediate safety threat, and that both Pearl and Gabriel had issues. Adding that the two should have better documented the escalating violence and lack of cooperation by the family. View Stefanie Rodriguez results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. The department deemed all reports unsubstantiated. Gabriels grandmother objected, telling deputies that Pearl neglected and abused her children. Arturo Martinez, a security guard at the welfare office had also noticed Gabriels injuries and also tried to report his concerns. You can unsubscribe at any time. Media attention made Logan a symbol of child-protective services overreach most important: child-abuse.., Twitter, and one of the a striking innocence tracks what happened to eight-year-old Gabriel the... Then, she and Bom had already decided to end the investigation they... On January 29, 2013, this grim assembly line paused at Greg Merritts cubicle in the form earnings! Inevitable when department leaders and County politicians gave workers so little support, she.. Had once had Jennifer Garcia, if not killed claimed she did report an allegation of sexual by. Gave Martinez the familys name and contact information, telling deputies that Pearl neglected and abused children... 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