NY - Kyle Smith, 3, beaten to death, Brooklyn, 6 June 2008

[blaize]

What a pair of monsters. He loved his dog more than he cared for Kyle and she loved the poor little chap to a violent death. And of course the nameless, faceless system gets the blame.

(Source)

Prosecutors allege that Cheatham, who said she was Kyle's godmother, repeatedly struck him with her hands and a brush and put him in cold water. Martin grabbed Kyle by the arm, struck him and punished him by repeatedly "making him do pushups and march in place," court documents charge.
An autopsy revealed Kyle was beaten about his ears and face and had extreme injuries to his lips, mouth and buttocks, as well as cuts to the inner folds of his anus.
Residents said they saw emergency workers remove Kyle from the home and that he had severe rope burns on his ankle.
Spiro Ferris, Martin's attorney, said his client tried to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the tot and that Martin had seen Cheatham "discipline the child."
"My client has a lot of stress," Cheatham's attorney Joseph Miller said. "She loved that child."

 

[Callie]

How do these children keep falling through the cracks even after CPS is notified? I don't understand..

I don't either, absinthe. But I do know that too many people don't do the job they were assigned to do. It's so very, very sad.

 

[mssheila]

I honestly don't know why I continue to read these stories, they just break my heart. I knew what would be in this thread when I clicked it.

They all need to be shot. :furious::furious:

 

[SewingDeb]

This happened only 13 blocks from where Nixmary died.

Somber neighbors regret that they never spoke up

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_...mber_neighbors_regret_that_they_never_-1.html

 

[gaia227]

This was on the local news last night. Another child dies under the noses of NYC social workers, police and neighbors who didn't speak up.
Part of the problem is the agencies need more funding. They are way understaffed and have huge case-loads. It is unacceptable yet city/state/federal gov't keeps cutting the budgets of child services, police, etc - these are agencies that are in place to protect and serve the public therefore they should be getting maximum funding so they can do their jobs correctly. It flames me.
It is also negligence on the part of the social workers. The one who was assigned to Nixmary Brown went to the apt several times but was refused entry by the parents and that was that. Her case was closed. She was forgotten. She was tortured to death a short time later in her own home. And it is just the system itself. It needs to be revamped, new regulations put into place - if a legitimate complaint of abuse comes in I think that child should be under law immediately taken out of the house and placed under physical and mental evaluation. A child is going to be much more likely to talk once they are taken out from under the control of their parent of perpetrator.

I can understand people's hesitation to get involved because every situation is different but when you see a child standing outside in the cold with shorts and tank on being screamed at or you hear the obvious sounds of a child being hit it is time to get involved and be that child's voice. There was a child care worker in the apt. building and HE didn't do anything either. I used to call the police on my neighbors down the street all the time. Their son was autistic and they obviously made no effort to understand autism. They were always screaming at him, hitting him, they would leave him alone for hours (he was about 7), he went missing one day when they left him alone - he was found at a swimming pool - alone, etc. Nothing ever seemed to come from my phone calls. I would see the cruiser show up and leave shortly after and that was it.

 

[Vegas Bride]

I agree more needs to be done to help protect the children but what's the answer? Some of the children who are being abused and neglected today will be the ones (if they manage to survive) we'll be reading about later who end up themselves turning to crime. The majority of the ones I see in jail come from homes where they never should have grown up in, parents who were drug addicts or alcoholics and kids being left to fend for themselves. Add physical/sexual abuse into the mix and how can we expect any child to grow up into a good productive member of society? We all need to wake up and realise the system isn't working. With the drug problem getting worse there are more children suffering from the affects. There needs to be more safety checks, if the government won't pay for enough workers to get the job done, maybe there could be some type of volunteer group to help pick up the slack.
IMO there needs to be a huge campaign to educate the public about what to do when they see something not right. On another thread there was a call made when a worker saw a father abusing his child, that person did the right thing! How many people just turned their back when they saw/heard this baby boy being hurt?
The grandmother tried to get him help, my heart goes out to her, why was she not listened to?

VB

 

[Tonia]

Manslaughter !!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????????

KINGS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY CHARLES J. HYNES ANNOUNCES INDICTMENT IN DEATH OF THREE-YEAR-OLD

COUPLE CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER

http://www.brooklynda.org/press_releases/pr_jun_08.htm#11

I cant believe that.

 

[Tonia]

How are they not charged with murder,look at that face.
Why dont we just make child abuse legal,wth?
This pizzes me off!

 

[Belinda]

An unrepentant Housing Authority security guard who claimed he slept through the horrific beating of a 3-year-old boy got 18 years to life in prison Thursday.

That means Lemar Martin, 27, will likely serve more time than the woman who actually beat Kyle Smith to death in 2008 while they were caring for the boy.

snip

Martin's girlfriend, Nymeen Cheatham, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for a 20-year sentence. He went to trial, was convicted of murder and got life.

(Bolding mine)

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_..._to_death_sentenced_to_18_.html#ixzz0lr42Jr2h

 

[kbl8201]

im really annoyed with the whole 'they'll grow up to be absusers or criminals' stuff. there are many people here at websleuths who suffered one type of abuse or another and never turned into such......(me included)

it depends on the strength and will of the person. and even those who do not have a strong will do not turn to abuse.....unless its abuse of themselves. most would not concieve of turning the abuse they suffered themselves on others.

 

[kbl8201]

I agree more needs to be done to help protect the children but what's the answer? Some of the children who are being abused and neglected today will be the ones (if they manage to survive) we'll be reading about later who end up themselves turning to crime. The majority of the ones I see in jail come from homes where they never should have grown up in, parents who were drug addicts or alcoholics and kids being left to fend for themselves. Add physical/sexual abuse into the mix and how can we expect any child to grow up into a good productive member of society? We all need to wake up and realise the system isn't working. With the drug problem getting worse there are more children suffering from the affects. There needs to be more safety checks, if the government won't pay for enough workers to get the job done, maybe there could be some type of volunteer group to help pick up the slack.
IMO there needs to be a huge campaign to educate the public about what to do when they see something not right. On another thread there was a call made when a worker saw a father abusing his child, that person did the right thing! How many people just turned their back when they saw/heard this baby boy being hurt?
The grandmother tried to get him help, my heart goes out to her, why was she not listened to?

VB

i know this post is 2 years old but i want to go back to it again.

i think abuse (emotional, physical, sexual) victims have enough to deal with coming forward then to have to worry about whether we think they are gonna turn into an abuser/criminal themselves? isnt it bad enough they feel shame, guit and fear they wont be believed?

a 3 year old is beaten so bad he's in the hospital for a month does this mean we should automatically think he'll do the same to his own child? a little girl is raped by her step dad, so this means she'll be a molester when she grows up automatically? someone whos suffered nearly 2 decades of emotional abuse from a grandparent will become a vindictive monster?

those people that sit in jail that are referred to in this post use the abuse as an excuse for why there lives turned out the way they did. there are so many other victims (and survivors) who CHOSE not to use that as an excuse, and not all of them even have counseling to help them deal with there issues. some of them just decide to stop the cycle on there own

 

[Belinda]

kbl - I couldn't agree with you more. As a child I was emotionally, physically & sexually abused. As an adult, I continued to be emotionally abused until I broke contact with my family 3 years ago. While I do carry baggage from it, I've never abused anyone else. Ever. I am even more careful of what I say than the average person because I know how it feels to be bullied and abused. I can't even hurt the feelings of people I don't like. I just can't do it. There are way more survivors who have gone on to lead perfectly normal lives than there are survivors who become abusers. There are also many abusers who have never been abused themselves. When people use the abuse card as an excuse, they demean the rest of us and all that we have accomplished in overcoming our own abuse.