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State drops child abuse charges
December 1, 2007
By Natalie Neysa Alund
BRADENTON --Prosecutors on Friday
dropped a child abuse charge against a former school teaching aide
accused of beating her foster daughter with extension cords.
Connie Hunt, 46, was arrested in
February 2006, because her 11-year-old foster daughter said Hunt hit
her with belts and extension cords, "when she gets in trouble,"
according to the state attorney's office. The alleged beatings
occurred at Hunt's home in the 1400 block of Ninth Avenue East.
Hunt, who has no criminal
convictions, had been scheduled to go to trial next week on the
felony child abuse charge, but the victim is not available to
testify at trial, Assistant State Attorney Jamie Rosenberg wrote in
a memo released Friday.
The 11-year-old victim has a
history of mental health issues and is currently at a lock-down
mental health facility in southern Florida, prosecutors said. The
victim's therapist said the girl is "not in a position to discuss
the incident."
"Without the testimony of the
victim and without any witnesses or admission by the defendant, the
state has no other alternative than to (not prosecute) the case,"
Rosenberg wrote in his memo.
Authorities learned about the
alleged abuse when a deputy investigated a school bus fight
involving the victim. The deputy noticed scabs on the victim's
shoulder, arms and legs.
Rosenberg, in the memo, said Hunt
initially told authorities that she only disciplined the child with
her hands and "didn't know why her daughter would lie."
Hours after prosecutors'
announcement, Hunt sat smiling on a couch at her attorney's office.
Hunt, who has a 12-year-old son,
said she is relieved the case is over.
"My life been on hold for almost
two years," she said. "It was a nightmare."
Hunt was surprised at her arrest,
because she said agencies including Child Protective Services and
the Safe Coalition for Children, frequented her home to check on the
victim.
"There were never any complaints,"
she said.
Prior to her arrest, Hunt worked as
a teacher's aide for the Manatee County School Board. On Friday, she
said she plans to switch careers and become a dental hygienist.
"This case illustrates how few
rights foster parents have," said attorney Mark Lipinski, who
represented Hunt with Scarlett Guy.
"They are not told any significant
history about foster children, they are not told about all the
problems the foster children have," Guy said. "And so if one agrees
to be a foster parent, you just never know what you're getting
into."
Sarrah Troncoso, deputy press
secretary with Florida Department of Children and Families, said DCF
has a full disclosure policy for foster parents.
"That way the child receives the
best care possible from their foster parents," she said.
When foster parents go through
training they are instructed about the disclosure, Troncoso added.
Information released to them under
state statute includes, why the child was taken from their parents,
education and medical records, prescriptions and special care like
diet or mental health.
"If that is not done, a foster
parent should let us know . . . bring it to our attention," Troncoso
said.
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