Barbara Dixon has been given four years of probation for failing to report the abuse of either Gabriel Fernandez or Anthony Avalos, two boys who she was assigned to counsel after allegations of child abuse. Both died.
Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami calls a petition filed by Pearl Fernandez, which aims to get her resentenced for the murder of her own son Gabriel, "plain wrong."
“Don’t let Gabriel’s story, his life, his death, and his trial be for nothing,” Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami told Oxygen.com. He invites the public to attend a celebration for the slain boy's birthday.
Shortly after his birth, Gabriel Fernandez was sent to live with his uncle Michael Lemos Carranza and Carranza's partner, David Martinez. Martinez died in El Salvador amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
Four social workers had been accused of negligence in 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez's torture and death. The case's dismissal has at least one prosecutor calling for changes to California law.
Bobby Cagle, the Director of Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, claims that drastic changes have been made since Gabriel Fernandez died.
“I can tell you that he feels it’s his fault and if he was out of custody, he would have saved Gabriel," prosecutor Jon Hatami said of Arnold Contreras
"There is a broad body of literature that we’ve seen to suggest that humans are not particularly good crystal balls,” expert Emily Putnam-Hornstein said of using predictive risk modeling to identify abused children.
