"John" HERRERA - 5 yo - / On trial: Parents Carlos and Jennifer Herrera - Scottsbluff, NE

Testimony: Relatives had no concerns that children were being abused

Posted: Thursday, June 6, 2013 7:02 pm
Updated: 9:01 pm, Thu Jun 6, 2013.

By MAUNETTE LOEKS
New Media Editor

Attorneys for two parents accused of child abuse and neglect began calling witnesses Thursday afternoon.

Carlos and Jennifer Herrera, both of Scottsbluff, are on trial for alleged abuse and neglect that prosecutors say have resulted in permanent injury to the Herreras’ son. When the boy was 5 years old, Scottsbluff Police and Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services staff removed the boy and his sisters from the home. The boy had been found to have bruises — shaped like a flip flop — across his face, forehead and shoulder. He also suffered a severe rash and other conditions that prosecutors have alleged were caused by neglect.

Relatives of Carlos Herrera were called to the stand Thursday afternoon. Herrera’s father, Ernie Herrera, and two sisters, Liza Arambaru and Monica Dominguez, testified on behalf of Carlos and Jennifer Herrera.

Asked by attorney Jeremy Jorgenson to describe her brother, Dominguez said, “He is a good dad and a good husband. He does what he can for his family. … Both of them are very loving parents and try their best for their children. ”

Each of the Herreras described the boy as suffering only scratches, bumps and other injuries that a person would see on a normal child and expressed that they were never concerned about abuse. They said they were aware of his allergies and had some awareness of other health conditions, most notably, that he did not grow. They said that Jennifer Herrera treated the child with medications and creams for his allergies and resulting eczema.

Ernie Herrera said that he did not like when the children were disciplined, using time outs, a method of sitting children on a chair for a specified amount of time. He said he only saw Jennifer Herrera “tap” her youngest daughter once on the hands as discipline. He
said his grandchildren would never be spanked while in his presence because he would not have tolerated it, though he admitted to spanking his own children when they were young.

Each of the Herreras said they were frequent visitors to the Herrera home. Ernie Herrera said he visited the home daily. Dominguez said she visited the home two to three times a week and her son even lived in the home for three months in 2009. Arambaru said
she had visited the home two to three times a month and had visited the home the month before the children were placed in protective custody.

However, in testimony during direct questioning and cross examination, each of the Herreras described a different set up for a bedroom they say the Herrera children shared. Dominguez described a bedroom that had bunk beds in it, which Jorgenson said in opening statements had been the make up of the children’s bedroom until Jennifer Herrera had the beds removed because of safety reasons.

Ernie Herrera described a bedroom where he said the boy and the girl slept as having beds that were side by side, with both beds having side tables. Arambaru described a bedroom that had three beds in it, two beds for the couple’s two girls and a bed for the boy.

Earlier this week, the Herreras’ daughter denied that her brother shared a bedroom with her, testifying that his parents made him sleep in a cage, identified as a dog kennel, in the basement of the house. Dominguez laughed when asked if the Herreras made their son sleep in a dog kennel.

“No,” she said, laughing when asked by Jorgenson if the Herrera’s made their son sleep in a cage.

The members of the Herrera family also described a boy who had a different demeanor than described by doctors and school personnel. Though one teacher described the boy as having a stiff smile and a stiff way of carrying himself, Dominguez described him as a boy “with a large smile.

“He was an awesome little boy. He quickly attached himself,” she said, describing him as affectionate and loving.

“However, you automatically knew that something was wrong with him.”

They described the boy as playing normally, like other children, though he had an odd run and was smaller than the other children. School personnel and doctors have described a child who did not play with toys as normal children did and did not interact with others.

Ernie Herrera testified that he and his wife ate nearly all meals with Carlos and Jennifer Herrera and their children. He estimated that the family may not eat meals together one day a week, but because Jennifer Herrera cared for his wife, he said they ate most meals together. He described Jennifer Herrera as taking care of his wife at Carlos and Jennifer Herrera’s home. However, Liza Arambaru said that Jennifer Herrera took care of the woman at her own home.

The defense also extensively questioned Dr. Alan Smith, a therapist for the boy after being placed into foster care, and Vicki Moreno, an investigator with the Scotts Bluff County Attorney’s Office who also serves as a CAPstone forensic interviewer.

In its lines of questioning of the two witnesses, the defense has been trying to introduce its position that the Herrera children have told authorities of abuse because it was suggested to them during repeated interviews by authorities. Law enforcement investigating its case made its arrest based on “collateral” or sources outside the home who they say made up allegations of abuse.

Diagnosis of the boy’s condition by doctors in the case, including a child abuse pediatrician testifying Thursday, has been a result of those biased sources, they contend.

They point to May 2009 and June 2009 interviews, in which the children said they were not spanked by their parents, as evidence that the children’s later allegations were the result of interviewing questions that created false memories for the children.

Also on Thursday, defense attorneys were granted a motion to vacate an order of contempt against an expert witness. The witness had taken cell phone photos during Wednesday’s court proceedings as the Herrera’s 8-year-old daughter testified. The girl gave an account of living in the home, telling of abuse that she said the Herreras caused to their son, including making him sleep in the dog kennel.

The defense witness, who has been allowed to observe proceedings, said in an affidavit to the court that he had been taking photographs of witness coaching. He alleged that a former caseworker for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services was nodding and making hand gestures during the girl’s testimony.

Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Deputy Bob Rader testified that he had first noticed the man taking photos, which he believed to have been of the little girl as she testified. After he told the man to stop, he said, the man directed him a short time later to a woman, who was later identified as a former caseworker, and said she was coaching the witness. Rader said he observed the woman nodding and other gestures after the girl would answer questions, but he did not believe the woman to be coaching the witness. The woman denied coaching the witness and has not had any direct involvement with the case, she told Rader.

The judge vacated the order of contempt against the expert witness, but reminded defense attorneys that witnesses and observers are not allowed to take photos or videos within the courtrooms. Photos and video are only allowed in some Nebraska courts, and those allowances are under the direction and orders of judges.

He did order that photos of the girl and the alleged caseworker be deleted. Copies could be provided to the court, he said, but would be sealed.

The defense did request a directed verdict, a motion that seeks for the judge to decide the case and to remove it from jury consideration. They cited testimony from Dr. Suzanne Haney, where she said that the boy’s growth had begun to plateau after being returned to his parents while living in Kansas. The defense took the position that the injury to the child — the stopping of his growth and the beginning stages of the diagnosed psychosocial dwarfism — would have begun in Kansas and been out of the jurisdiction of the state.

The judge denied the motion and the case will be decided by the jury. Testimony is to resume this morning. Defense attorneys have not yet indicated if Carlos and Jennifer Herrera will testify as part of the defense’s case.

http://www.starherald.com/news/local_news/testimony-relatives-had-no-concerns-that-children-were-being-abused/article_f3b2bdd0-cf0d-11e2-9bac-001a4bcf887a.html

These links have more background for anyone interested.

More Coverage

• Defense protests testimony in child abuse case
  
• Doctors testify in abuse, neglect trial
  
• Boy's rare condition questioned as child abuse trial begins
  
• Child abuse trial to start Monday
  

These lying relatives should be ashamed of themselves for covering up such abuse. They should all be prosecuted for perjury.

Link to Friday's proceedings:

Couple deny abusing their son - starherald.com: Local News


www.starherald.com/.../article_67e895f4-cfdf-11e2-b6a6-0019bb2963f4.h...

Jury Finds Scottsbluff Couple Guilty of Abuse

By: Associated Press Email

Posted: Sat 3:20 PM, Jun 08, 2013




A jury has found a Scottsbluff couple guilty of felony child abuse.

KNEB radio reports the Scotts Bluff District Court jury on Saturday found Carlos and Jennifer Herrera guilty of felony child abuse.

That's less serious than the charges they had faced of child abuse resulting in serious injury.

Prosecutors say authorities began their investigation in October 2011, when the couple's son missed school after showing up with injuries.

Defense attorneys say child services officials forced the couple's children, including a daughter, to believe abuse was taking place.

Police say the Herreras tried to conceal the boy's whereabouts when officers checked on the child. Officers say he had several injuries, including the imprint of a shoe across his face. They also say the boy suffered extreme neglect and malnutrition.

http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/Jury-Finds-Scottsbluff-Couple-Guilty-of-Abuse-210706701.html

Thank you TwinkleToes, for the updates! i'm just popping in to address a complaint that was sent to the forum.



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