Published: May 10, 2008 05:14 pm            

Stop the cycle

Kokomo police arrested four adults last week whom, they say, held two 4-year-olds in closets for three weeks at a time. The adults bound the children, police say, and deprived them of food and water for extended periods. Detectives believe they abused the children daily.

Asked how the children looked when police discovered them in a house on South Home Avenue, Lt. Don Whitehead said, “Horrible. They looked like they had just been beaten.”

Two of the adults are the mothers of the children.

“I’ve never seen a case worse than this in 30 years in which the kids survived,” Whitehead said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that these kids would not have survived this much longer.”

The charges shocked the community. The Department of Child Services received several calls last week from folks wanting to help the children. The department accepted gifts and baskets for the little ones.

What’s alleged to have occurred shocked us, as well. In response, we established a trust fund for the children at Solidarity Federal Credit Union. The Police Department already has pledged a $1,000 donation.

But there’s more all of us must do. On this Mother’s Day, we must commit ourselves to recognizing signs of abuse. According to the federal government’s Child Welfare Information Gateway, signs of physical abuse include:

• Unexplained burns, bites, bruises, broken bones or black eyes.

• Fading bruises or other marks noticeable after an absence from school, church or another frequently visited place.

• Fear of parents and reluctance to return home.

• Shrinking at the approach of an adult.

• Conflicting, unconvincing or no explanation from a care-giver for a child’s injury.

• Descriptions of the child as “evil” or in some other negative way by the care-giver.

• Harsh physical “discipline” of the child.

Police say two 4-year-olds were tortured over a long period of time in our hometown – just a few doors down from a church and its children’s day care. Let’s resolve to watch out for this community’s little ones, and stop cycles of abuse.

        

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