Determining the exact number of child abuse cases in the United States and possibly in any other country has always been exceedingly difficult.
Let us not forget that government statistics – or the official records, are always one or two years out of date simply because the data are reviewed and scrutinized before released to the public.
For example, in 2005, there were more than 3 million cases of suspected child abuse; in other words, about 3 million times, someone called the authorities to report that children were in danger.
Many of those calls turned out to be false alarms or did not meet the legal definition for abuse.
In some cases, law enforcement officers or caseworkers somehow failed to notice obvious signs of physical abuse in children during a welfare check.
They made no meaningful action to bring the victims to safety, which reportedly happened to an eight-year-old Gabriel Fernandez.
For months, the boy was almost constantly abused by his mother and her boyfriend’s stepfather in their Palmdale home. Gabriel ultimately died on May 24, 2013, after being fatally beaten.
10 /10 Punishment For Not Cleaning Up His Toys
On the night of May 22, 2013, Gabriel’s mother, Pearl Fernandez, called the emergency services because her eight-year-old son was not breathing. When paramedics arrived, they found the boy naked in a bedroom, seemingly lifeless.
James Cermak, one of the firefighter paramedics sent to the home, remembered seeing strangulation marks around the boy’s neck and bruises from head to toe.
It later came to light that Isauro Aguirre, his mother’s boyfriend, had beaten him multiple times in the head and body because he did not clean up his toys. Gabriel was put on life support at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
9 /10 The Parents Laughed During Abuse
On May 23, Pearl Hernandez was arrested for felony child endangerment and child abuse, while Isauro Aguirre was arrested for attempted murder.
After Gabriel was taken off life support, he died on May 24. Both Pearl and Isauro were then charged with first-degree murder.
Gabriel’s brother Ezequiel testified in court on October 18. Ezequiel said Gabriel was often beaten and forced to eat cat feces, cat litter, bad stuff, and expired food.
His parents threatened to beat him up if he told people about the abuse. He also testified that his mother and her boyfriend would laugh during the beatings.