Two Unnamed Children - 2 and 5 yo/ Accused:Dionicio Rodriguez and Carla Camargo - Okeechobee FL

OKEECHOBEE COUNTY — Two people were arrested last month after
Okeechobee County Sheriff's investigators found two children — one with a
broken leg and fractured ribs — in a vehicle with them, a release
states.



Carla Carolina Camargo, 27, faces charges including aggravated child
abuse/neglect (medical), while Dionicio Aguilar Rodriguez, 32, was
arrested on charges including aggravated child abuse/neglect (medical),
aggravated child abuse (malicious punishment) and driving while license
revoked with knowledge.

A detective got an anonymous call on June 22, and investigators began conducting surveillance.

When investigators stopped a car that Rodriguez was driving, they
found a 2-year-old child later determined to have six fractured ribs and
a femur, or upper leg bone, that was broken in half. A 5-year-old girl
had a bruise on her arm. The children weren't in car seats.

"When asked how she sustained the bruise, detectives were told that
'(Rodriguez) was mad and had punched her because she didn't tell him the
(state Department of Children and Families) lady was at the door,' "
the release states.

Camargo and Rodriguez, both of Okeechobee, were arrested June 25.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/jul/05/okeechobee-pair-arrested-after-2-year-old-found/

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. - After authorities say an Okeechobee couple tried
to bring in healthy children to hide abused ones from a Department of
Children and Families worker, two agencies are teaming up to try and
look for similar cases. Okeechobee couple, Dionicio Rodriguez
and his girlfriend, Carla Camargo, sit behind bars charged with child
abuse involving Camargo's two children, a five-year-old girl and a
two-year-old boy. Before they were caught though, investigators
say they were looking for a healthy child to have around so they could
present an image that all was well when the Department of Children and
Families came to the house. Their trailer off Highway 98 is where
authorities say the two-year-old boy suffered a broken leg and 10 rib
fractures on six different ribs. The Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office said Camargo and Rodriguez tried to hide the injuries from DCF. "I repeatedly told her to just tell DCF the truth," a woman who allegedly reported the abuse to DCF said. This
woman who lives nearby, but would like to remain unnamed said the
couple lied the first time DCF came to check the home for possible child
abuse. "They introduced two spanish kids and they were running
around playing healthy," the woman said. "It was a friend of theirs
(kids) and they told us they had just found two spanish kids to use and
they could only use them one time because that family was moving out of
state." In 25 years of public service, Okeechobee
County Undersheriff Noel Stephen says he's never seen anything like
this, where a couple allegedly tried to get healthy kids to hide abused
ones. "It definitely leaves investigators to be concerned," he said. Now
they're addressing those concerns by teaming up with DCF and going into
child abuse investigations looking for similar cases. "Law
enforcement needs to do their due diligence and the Department of
Children and Families needs to do their due diligence to make sure that
the child we are looking at is in fact that child," Undersheriff Stephen
said. With the two agencies teaming up, they hope they prevent injuries like what allegedly happened to the two-year-old little boy. "I
look at myself as maybe his angel or his savior," the woman
who reported the alleged abuse said. "But I also feel guilty for not
reporting it earlier before all the bones were broken." The
Undersheriff says they are looking at different scenarios because they
can't look at social security numbers and dates of birth. He says taking
pictures of the children each visit could be an option to make sure no
one is trying to hide anything.

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_okeechobee_county/after-deputies-say-couple-tries-to-hide-child%27s-broken-legs_ribs,-they%27re-looking-for-similar-cases