Child Injury Lawyer Blog
By Steven Smith, Attorney and David Wolf, Attorney
Published by Child Injury Lawyer Network
New York day care and child care centers are regulated by the New York Office of Children and Family Services. Pursuant Section 418-1.9, Discipline, New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR), child care centers are prohibited from using corporal punishment for discipline or any reason whatsoever. The New York child care center regulations define corporal punishment punishment directed directly on the body. What does corporal punishment include? It includes spanking, biting, shaking, slapping, twisting, or squeezing the child. It also includes the requirement of excessive physical exercise or forcing or requiring the child to remain in an uncomfortable or bizarre position. Forcing the child to eat certain foods like spicy foods is also a form of corporal punishment.
The Jackson County, Mississippi Sheriff’s Office arrested Arnold Clark on charges of molestation and touching a child for lustful purposes. The arrest of Mr. Clark in the Mississippi Sun Herald contained few details of the incident or allegations. Mr. Clark is entitled to an attorney and is innocent until proven guilty. What we do not know at this point in time is the evidence gathered or obtained against Mr. Clark or his criminal history.
Anthony Stanci, age 18, has been arrested for blackmailing teenage boys for sex and having sex with minors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. According to news reports, Stanci set up an account on Facebook, a popular social networking website, and posted as a teenage girl. “Emily” convinced many teenage boys to send naked photographs of themselves to “Emily”. Once “Emily” received the photographs, “Emily” then threatened to e mail and send the naked photographs to family and friends if the teenage victim would not have sex with Anthony Stanci. These horribly deceptive and heinous acts resulted in Stanci having sex with teenage boys as young as 15 years old. So far, 31 boys sent Stanci naked photographs of themselves have been identified. Stanci faces many felony counts on this matter. His attorney stated that Stanci may be interested in a plea agreement. Of course, Stanci is entitled to a lawyer and is innocent until proven guilty; however, there appears to be a mountain of evidence in the form of Facebook, e mails, text messages, and witness testimony against Stanci. If there is a conviction or plea deal, Stanci needs to serve a prison sentence and get registered as as sex offender / sex predator.
Lindwood Jones, Jr. and Shawntay D. Jones have been arrested and charged with their daughter’s death in Suffolk, Virgina. WAVY-TV 10 reported that the parents were charged for first degree murder. Zanya K. Jones died on December 1. Zanya was less than a year old. The medical examiner conducted an autopsy and determined that Zanya died from dehydration and malnutrition. Other children were removed from the home which was unsanitary.
In another sad example of how the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare has failed to protect the most vulnerable children of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a 29-year–old mother of five has now been charged with Child Neglect Causing Death, more than two years after she allegedly allowed her 7-month-old daughter to starve to death. Citing “issues in completing and acquiring medical examiner’s and other doctors’ reports,” the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office has charged the mother, however, the father has not been charged. According to the Milwaukee, Wisconsin criminal complaint, local police found no baby food in the house other than an empty can of infant formula, but the parents spent as much as $500 per month on gambling. The parents allegedly spent the day after the child’s death at a local casino. The mother received state assistance, food stamps and SSI benefits. Although a 9-year-old sibling was being monitored under a court order, and child welfare caseworkers and a therapist made visits to the family’s alleged “filthy, roach-infested home” to check on the older child, it does not appear as though they were aware of the issues and services which were to be provided to the younger child. The deceased child, Layunnia Lewis, was born 14 weeks premature and suffering from herpes, weighing 4 3/4 pounds, and weighed only 5 1/2 pounds when she died at 7 months of age. An independent review panel report noted that “for some portion of time that the safety services case was open [for the younger child], neither the ongoing worker [for the older child] nor the safety service worker knew of their co-worker’s involvement with the family.”