Social Worker Charged With Child Abuse In L.A. County Was Hired To Work With Children Again
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — One of four Los Angeles County social workers fired over the death of an 8-year-old boy is causing concerns and outrage again.
Kevin Bom, 36, was charged with child abuse and falsifying records, along with three others, in failing to protect Gabriel Fernandez, prosecutors announced on April 7.
But up until then, Bom was working in the San Bernardino County Superior Court as a child-custody counselor. Part of his job description was risk assessments to rule out child abuse, which was similar to the duty he was accused of failing to properly perform while working for L.A. County.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: Gabriel Fernandez
Attorney Jim Terrell in Victorville had a case involving Bom. He is now calling for an investigation.
"You go out; you talk to the last boss. You talk to people, especially when you are dealing with kids. You've got to do your due diligence," Terrell said.
Bom removed his Linkedin page after CBS2/KCAL9's Cristy Fajardo started investigating and making calls.
But based on a printed copy of the page, Bom was hired just months after L.A. County fired him in the wake of Fernandez's death.
L.A. County said it does not keep records of phone inquiries, so it has no way of knowing if the San Bernardino County Superior Court checked out Bom's past employer as part of the vetting process.
Citing privacy concerns, no one from the Superior Court of San Bernardino County would say whether a call was placed or if Bom still works there.
But San Bernardino County Superior Court released a statement: "Upon notification of criminal charges, the court took immediate action. We take this matter very seriously and are currently conducting and administrative investigation concerning Mr. Bom's employment.
"Hiding behind the confidentiality doesn't cut it," Terrell added. He said he started asking questions after the courts told him Bom's reports were confidential but got no answers.
"It's another secret. Every case he's ever been on needs to be revisited," Terrell said the courts should have notified everyone involved in Bom's cases when they learned of his arrest. He insisted it's time for those who hired him to start talking.
"I understand we have to say allege. We don't know what the outcome of his criminal case is going to be. But still, there should be transparency," Terrell insisted.