Tim Powers
Law Offices of Tim Powers, Denton Texas
940.580.2899 940.483.8000
In one of latest blog posts, we talked about child abuse in correlation to substance abuse. But in reality, child abuse happens anywhere and everywhere. Every time I turn on the news, I see a new story about a child being beat up or even killed by their parents. However, when I think about it, it’s actually the same story over and over again. In reality, an innocent, helpless child is fighting to stay alive. According to Child Help, child abuse is defined as “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or an act or failure to act, which presents an imminent risk or serious harm.”
According to Prevent Child Abuse Texas, an average of 13,700 children are abused and neglected every day. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Servicesclaimed that in 2013, 66,398 children and teens were victims of child abuse and neglect. Out of those 66,398 children and teens, 78 percent of them were abuse by their parents.
Just recently, in the news, there was a story about 27-year-old Clezel Montague Mughni who was charged with a felony injury to a child. There is also talk from the District Attorney about upgrading his charges. Mughni was arrested and charged after he repeatedly punched his girlfriend’s children in the stomach. The abuse led to the death of a 14-month-old baby boy and a two-year-old girl being severely hospitalized. Mughni’s girlfriend, Claudia L. Johnson, was recently charged with injury to a child by omission. As we defined child abuse and neglect earlier, it stated that it is anything that causes death, physical and emotional harm, or even failure to not report an incident. There were several claims that Claudia Johnson allowed her boyfriend to punch and spank her children. She is also at fault for leaving her children in an unsafe environment. The rest of her children are now being put into foster care.
You may be thinking by now how this is so cruel. How can someone allow for something like this to happen? But the miserable truth is it is everywhere. Another current event showed 32-year-old Jonathan Baker being charged with capital murderfor killing his 11-month-old son. His wife had left to go to work and left Mr. Baker in charge. A medical examiner claimed the 11-month-old baby Jonah died from closed head injury. Baby Jonah was also admitted into the hospital with 26 marks on his little body. His father Jonathan Baker was sentenced to life in prison for capital murder of 11-month-old baby Jonah.
As we have seen in these two articles, abuse is happening every day. According to Child Help, more than four children die every day as a result of child abuse. Approximately 70 percent of children that die from child abuse are under the age of four. A report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds. Child abuse is a huge issue. Consequences are based on case by case bases but can lead to capital charges and life in prison as seen in the previous articles. Stop these statistics.
http://www.childhelp.org/page/-/pdfs/Child-Abuse-Definitions.pdf
http://www.childhelp.org/pages/statistics
http://www.preventchildabusetexas.org/vitialsdaily.html?id=59uNBX36
http://www.austinchildrenshelter.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_child_abuse_statistics_v2
If you are seeking aggressive criminal representation by an experienced criminal defense attorney for your Denton County criminal case or arrest in Denton County, contact the offices of Tim Powers today. There is no charge or obligation for the initial consultation. 940.580.2899
*Tim Powers is an attorney licensed to practice law by the Supreme Court of Texas. Nothing in this article is intended to be legal advice. For legal advice about any specific legal question you should directly consult an attorney. Criminal Defense Lawyers with Unparalleled Passion for Success Providing Quality Representation for your Denton, Lewisville, Flower Mound, Carrollton, Corinth, Highland Village Dallas, Plano, McKinney, Denton County, Tarrant County, Collin County, or Dallas County criminal case