In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Evan Stark, Rutgers university 9 A Failure to Protect Resolving the Battered Mother’s Dilemma On September 11, 1992, based on injuries observed on the hands of sevenyear -old Daniel L., the principal of the Sandy Hook school reported a case of suspected child abuse to the Newtown police department and the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF). Further investigation revealed numerous bruises on the boy’s back, buttocks, legs, and arms. Daniel told police he had been struck recently with a belt and slapped by his mother, Lavonne L., and her live-in boyfriend, Miguel S., after he was found playing with a BB pistol. When Daniel failed to return home as usual, Lavonne called the school and was told he had missed the bus. Shortly afterward, the police arrived at the house, accompanied by a caseworker from the DCF. Lavonne’s four other children were taken into custody, including a newborn, and she and Miguel S. were placed in the back of a police car and taken to the station for questioning. A week earlier, the same DCF investigator had visited the home and found the baby in the basement washroom. Her report evoked Dickens: The baby, Candy, age l year, was lying on the mattress with a bottle in her mouth. She had a variety of blankets around her. She was noticeably dirty, has a smell about her. Diaper (cloth) soaked completely. A small bowl with bits of food on it lay on the mattress next to her. She cried a bit. Advised mother that child can’t be left alone down here. . . . Mother said, “Ok, I respect your opinion, if that’s what you 200 This chapter is based on the case of the State of Connecticut v. Lavonne L., tried in Danbury Superior Court. As an expert witness hired by the State of Connecticut Office of the Public Defender, Dr. Stark’s involvement included interviewing Ms. L, reviewing all relevant documents and investigative reports on the case, preparing a report on his findings, and testifying at Ms. L’s trial. Quotes are taken from Dr. Stark’s interviews as well as from a handwritten history prepared by Ms. L. of her relationship with Miguel S. A summary of Dr. Stark’s notes was reviewed by Ms. L., modified to reflect her recollections, and approved for publication. Failure to Protect | 201 think, I’ll take her out.” When the mother didn’t move . . . I moved aside the bed frame and mattress and lifted the baby out. The cellar was accessible only from an outside bulkhead. The caseworker accompanied Lavonne around the house. Dickens redux: In the one bedroom, door closed, 3 year old Maria was playing in closet. She appeared fairly clean and dressed. The room was dark, with dirty smell, dirty sheets and bunk beds. Smelled of feces, although none were visible. Mother acknowledged she could not provide for Candy’s needs. No services were recommended. A hospital examination of the children revealed numerous suspicious bruises on the three- and four-year-old girls, most notably on the legs and back of Maria. Lavonne told detectives she had hit Daniel with a belt in the BB gun incident and insisted she was the only one to “discipline” her children, explaining that this was “how I was treated when I was a girl.” Miguel also admitted hitting the children and using a belt on Maria. The couple was charged with four counts of risk of injury to a minor. Lavonne was out on bail and staying at a battered woman’s shelter when the public defender contacted me to do a domestic violence assessment. Her five children were in foster care, including the newborn, whose father was Miguel. He had been sentenced to “time served” (seventy-five days) and deported to Mexico. Lavonne faced eight years in jail. The state’s attorney was offering three. Each of Lavonne’s children had a different father, and four of the fathers were from Mexico. A neighbor reported that the couple had left an earlier apartment in shambles and were stealing water. The stories in the local press had headlines like “Modern Day Medea?” It reminded me of the widespread hostility that had greeted Hedda Nussbaum in 1987 after her abusive partner Joel Steinberg killed Lisa, their adopted daughter (Brownmiller, 1989; Johnson, 1990). In that case, the mother had been hospitalized with nine broken ribs, a broken jaw, a broken nose, and numerous bruises (McFadden, 1987). Except for...

Share