What happened to Gabriel Fernandez’s four social workers? – The Sun
NEW Netflix docu-series The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez about the story about a young boy who was tortured at the hands of his family has shocked the world.
However, it has raised questions about the social system that was meant to protect him.
What happened to Gabriel Fernandez's four social workers?
Prosecutors opened an investigation into the social workers assigned to Gabriel's case after his mother Pearl Fernandez and stepfather Isauro Aguirre's were found guilty of his murder in 2018.
They alleged the officials failed to take appropriate steps to protect the boy.
Two social workers, Stefanie Rodriguez and Patricia Clement, as well as two of their supervisors, Kevin Bom and Gregory Merritt, were each charged with one felony count of child abuse and falsifying public records.
Additionally, all four were fired from their jobs following an internal investigation into the group's actions leading up to Gabriel's death on May 23, 2013.
Did Gabriel Fernandez's four social workers go to jail?
The case made against the four social workers never made it to trial.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal advised that the lower court dismiss the charges against the social workers.
This decision came from a three-justice panel.
It was stated that there was no probable cause connected to child abuse or falsifying documents in a 2-to-1 opinion.
A motion to rehear the appeals court decision was denied in January 2020 and the criminal case against these four is not progressing further.
If the case went to trial and Rodriguez, Clement, Bom, and Merritt had been found guilty, they could have faced up to 10 years in prison each.
Why wasn't Gabriel Fernandez's death prevented?
Social worker Stefanie Rodriguez and other representatives of child protection agencies visited Gabriel's home on a number of occasions.
They claimed to have never found strong enough signs of abuse in order to remove Gabriel from the house.
Later investigations revealed Rodriguez had never received information which showed Pearl Rodriguez had abused and neglected her other children.
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