DCF Head Visits Barahona Abuse Victim
MIAMI (CBS4) -- The top man for the Department of Children and Family Services personally visited the 10 year old boy at the center of the Barahona child abuse case Saturday.
Young Victor remains in the burn unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital after his adoptive father allegedly doused his body with an unidentified chemical, causing the boy to go into convulsions and to suffer burns.
His twin sister, Nubia, did not survive and was found bundled into a bag in the back of Barahona's pick up truck last week.
"I can report to you today that Victor's progress is better and his medical condition is improving," said David Wilkins, DCF Secretary. Beyond that Wilkins would not elaborate citing confidentiality.
Wilkins made a brief statement outside of the hospital Saturday afternoon. DCF was still unable to answer the question of how this troubling abuse case happened in the first place.
"This is an horrific situation and I wish I could answer that question of how it could happen," he said. "In the next several weeks we will be investigating and be learning a lot more."
Meanwhile, Jorge Barahona, Victor's adopted father, made his first court appearance Friday and pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted first degree murder with a weapon and aggravated child abuse with a weapon.
"We entered a plea of not guilty," Barahona's attorney James Snowden said Friday.
Snowden refused to answer questions about his client – who appeared disheveled – and shaky. He also would not answer questions about the case.
It was Barahona's first public appearance since his truck was found with him and Victor suffering from burns and breathing problems from breathing-in chemicals. Victor's sister's body was in the back of the truck in a plastic bag.
Barahona said he was distraught after placing Nubia into a plastic bag and putting it in the back of his pick up truck. Police said he has not said how she died, but said Barahona did indicate he was planning to kill himself.
The attempted murder charge against Barahona was added Thursday night and stems from injuries suffered by Victor during the incident.
Jorge's wife, Carmen Barahona, also was seen in the back of a Miami-Dade police detective's car Thursday, but she is not in custody and is still being questioned.
The judge hearing Barahona's case denied bond on both counts against Barahona.
The judge also ordered Barahona to stay away from not only his own children – but any child.
State Attorney Michael McAuliffe said that the investigation into the bizarre incident would continue and that several law enforcement and prosecutors offices in multiple jurisdictions were acting in coordination to "pursue all leads with the goal of holding any and all individuals responsible for these alleged crimes and other crimes fully accountable."
According to an earlier CBS4 report Victor remains in the pediatric intensive care unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital but has been awake at times and is interacting with people and moving, but has not been able to get out of bed yet.
Late Friday afternoon, West Palm Beach Police Department Lt. Kalil would not reveal what was found during a search of the Barahona. Lt. Kalil also confirmed an autopsy report has been issued by the medical examiner, but would not discuss what it said.
Additional charges may be filed depending on what investigators find when an autopsy is performed on Nubia's body.
Details of the incident include the observations of the man who found the Victor and Barahona inside the pickup truck in Palm Beach County.
"I was mad at first," said Road Ranger Thomas Butler. "I was like, 'there's a boy sitting here.' I opened the door, as soon as I opened the door, I got hit with this, I don't know it was. It wasn't right. It was some type of odor."
Butler also said the boy was in bad shape.
"It was like an uncontrollable shiver," Butler said. "His arms were like this the whole time and he was shaking and shaking and shaking and really couldn't speak. When he did say something, he said it very low."
Thursday, Barahona's truck was towed to secure facility where it will be examined by an FBI forensics team.
Just days before the body was found, DCF reportedly received a call that the man had been abusing two of his two adopted children.
According to DCF, a child who lived near the Barahonas told a teacher that he would bind his adopted childrens hands and feet with duct tape and only release them so they could eat.
The teacher called DCF and reported the suspected abuse on February 10th. At least one of Barahona's other adopted children has reportedly confirmed that the Victor and his sister were kept bound in the Barahona's home.
According to DCF, Barahona and Carmen, 60, have been foster parents for decades. A few years ago, they took in Victor and his sister and later adopted them. The couple also has two other adopted children living with them in the home at 11501 SW 47th Terrace; a 7-year-old girl and an 11- or 12-year-old boy.
Before the Barahona's adopted Victor and his sister, DCF confirmed that they had been the subject of three reports to the abuse hotline. The agency declined to detail the nature of these reports.
Carmen Barahona reportedly told investigators that she and her husband had recently separated and that she had custody of the couple's other two children — not Victor and his twin.
Those two children were taken into DCF custody and during a hearing Wednesday, Judge Cindy Lederman ordered that "no one that had any idea what was going on in that home will have any contact with these children whatsoever."
In a separate DCF case, the father of the 6-year-old granddaughter of Carmen Barahona who said she saw abuse of Victor and his sister was given temporary custody of the child while the investigation into Carmen and Jorge continues.
Barahona's attorney is expected to ask a judge to reconsider the decision to deny bond, while the state is asking that he stay behind bars throughout the trial.
