DONOVAN and DONNELLE Jr GOSTON - 1 yo (2008) - Indianapolis IN

The family of a 3-year-old boy
who suffered brain damage, possibly as the result of abuse, is suing,
claiming state and local authorities failed to protect the child and his
twin brother.Donnelle Goston Sr. said his ex-girlfriend had
custody of the couple's twin boys -- Donnelle Jr. and Donovan -- from
2006 to 2008.According to the lawsuit filed by
Goston, the twins were treated for unexplained injuries, bruises and
ingestion of rubbing alcohol and lubricant beginning in 2006.
The Department of Child Services was involved with the children by March
of 2008.That May, Goston said he called police after he saw
choke marks on the twin boys. A report was taken, but the children
remained with their mother in Plainfield.In June, then-1-year-old
Donnelle Goston Jr. was hospitalized with head trauma. The boy, who
doctors said has permanent brain damage, now lives in a 24-hour care
facility."Don't nobody understands from a daddy's point of view
how I feel or what I'm going through seeing my baby in the hospital,"
Goston said.The children's aunt, Adria Mansfield, said police and
DCS should have stepped in long before Donnelle Jr. was injured."It's
not like they wasn't aware of what was going on," she said. "They knew
before it even got to this point."Hendricks County Prosecutor
Patricia Baldwin told Massee over the phone that the child was failed by
his caregivers, but wouldn't specify who."We have our gut
feelings as to who did it, but you can't take gut feelings into court,"
Baldwin said.The Department of Child Services would not comment
on the case, but officials deny responsibility for what happened in
court documents."The plaintiffs were careless and negligent with
regard to their own safety and well-being," one court filing read.Goston's
attorney, Robert Turner, said he can't believe someone has not been
held accountable for the boy's injuries."The state has failed,
the county's failed, the city's failed to protect this child and, at the
same time, there's another child, this is a twin, that is still being
exposed to the same environment," Turner said.Goston has custody
of the Donnelle's twin brother, but the child is allowed to go on
unsupervised visits with his mother.