HONOLULU (KHON2) — Big Island police have arrested and charged a Mountain View man with multiple counts of assault and abuse of a two-year-old girl.
Early Saturday morning, Hilo patrol officers responded to Hilo Medical Emergency Center after a two-year-old girl was admitted with “various burn marks, physical signs of dehydration and malnutrition, bruising at various stages of healing, and a fractured rib and femur bone, also in the healing stages.”
“Due to the extent of the visible injuries on the baby, when they did testing and everything, it’s their standard practice to contact the police. So Hilo patrol officers met with the hospital, spoke with the mother,” Capt. Rio Amon-Wilkins, Hawaii Police Criminal Investigation Director explained.
The child was later flown to Kapiolani Medical Center for further treatment where she remains hospitalized and in stable condition.
Reports said police arrested 31-year-old Clayton Ernest Saragosa, the live-in boyfriend of the child’s 23-year-old mother, for reportedly denying the girl food and water, as well as physically abusing her over several months.
Saragosa was arrested almost three hours after the initial call came in at his residence in Mountain View. At the time of the arrest, four of Saragosa’s children biological children were present and placed into protective custody.
The 12 and 13-year-old boys who live in the Mountain View residence were released to Child Welfare Services, while the visiting 8 and 4-year-old boys were released back to their mother.
Amon-Wilkins said the four boys do not have visible signs of abuse at this point.
“We’re still piecing everything together,” he added. “And we’re still considering charges of potential charges against the mother, as well as additional charges against Mr. Saragosa.”
Amon-Wilkins said cases like these are tragic.
“Especially when it’s a two-year-old little girl that’s, you know, helpless and the people that are supposed to be protecting her, obviously aren’t and, in this case, one of the people that should be protecting her is actually the perpetrator.”
Dr. Pat Morgan, Kapiolani Medical Center’s Child Advocacy and Protection Center Director and a leading child abuse pediatrician in the state, said she’s called to possible abuse cases regularly, and neglect and physical abuse are the most common.
“Injuries that we see are burns, bruises, really deep cuts, or broken bones, fractures are the most common injuries,” Morgan explained. “The skin tends to be the most obvious sign that a child might be physically abused.”
Injuries to the back, chest, upper arm, thighs, face or jaw are considered suspicious cause kids don’t normally hurt those places playing.
Kids under the age of 4, or those 12 and under who are home-schooled are the most vulnerable because they are isolated.
“It is our responsibility to make sure that our keiki are safe,” Morgan said. “That means if you see something or you have a suspicion, because that’s all it takes is a suspicion, please make the call.”
Amon-Wilkins said don’t think it’s none of your business…
“It is your business,” he explained. “It’s all of our business to, you know, help protect, you know, children in the community, even if they’re not our children,”
Saragosa was charged Sunday evening with multiple counts of assault, second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and abuse of a family household member.
Child Welfare Services has also opened an investigation for the health and safety of all children in the residence.
Saragosa appeared in his initial court appearance on Monday. Bail was set at $85,000.
