Mother claims CPS failed to investigate abuse

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A local mother has put Seminole County’s Child Protective Services on notice of her intent to sue, after her attorney claims the agency failed to follow its own procedures to investigate an alleged case of child sexual abuse.

Investigative reporter Karla Ray spoke with the attorney and the alleged victim’s mother. The intent to sue letter states that CPS refused to speak with witnesses and even lost tapes of interviews in the case.

Attorneys are required to send the ‘pre-suit’ letters 60 days before suing a government agency.

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CPS is run out of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, and though child welfare cases are confidential, investigators did confirm that there is a separate, open criminal investigation into that alleged abuse.

“This is the absolute worst situation I've ever been through in my life,” the mother told 9 Investigates. We aren’t identifying the mother for fear of identifying her 5-year-old daughter. “They say when you lose the trust, you never get it back, and there's no way my trust with CPS will come back.”

Unlike most of Florida, Seminole County’s child abuse investigations are handled by sheriff’s deputies, not the Department of Children and Families.

Though the Sheriff’s Office cannot confirm open CPS cases, deputies sent us two other heavily redacted reports, detailing separate criminal investigations related to the alleged sexual abuse of the 5-year-old.

A local mother reported alleged abuse against her daughter. #9Investigates her claims that child protection services failed to investigate and now she's planning legal action, TODAY at 5 on #wftv. @KRayWFTV @GWarmothWFTV @MarthaSugalski pic.twitter.com/WG6ck7pgqu
— WFTV Channel 9 (@WFTV) February 19, 2019

The first of those reports, dated back to September 2018, was closed after prosecutors warned that without a confession, eyewitness, or more evidence, no charges could be filed.

The second, though, shows the mother took the 5-year-old to Arnold Palmer Hospital for an exam. That investigation is still open.

“Anybody with a child should be concerned, because any child could be abused by anyone,” attorney Jennifer Englert said.

A Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told 9 Investigates that they are aware of the letter, but because of pending litigation, and the nature of the case, they cannot comment.