GUILTY FL - Joanna Moreno for child abuse, Fort Pierce, 2011

MorenoI said:

http://www.tcoasttalk.com/2011/04/11/girl-kept-in-fort-pierce-couples-backyard-deputies-say/

FORT PIERCE — A man and woman were charged with felony child abuse after sheriff’s deputies investigating a 911 hang-up call Saturday were told that one of three girls living in the home was forced to spend most of her time in the backyard. The girl was allowed inside only at night to sleep on the floor without sheets and blankets, deputies said

That girl, whose age was not in the report, told deputies she was not allowed to use the bathroom in the house, had to shower outdoors, wash her clothes in a bucket and store them in a plastic shed. Deputies reported finding the shower, bucket and clothes shed outside, as well as an area that had been used as a latrine.

Of course only one child was treated this way, while the other 2 were not.

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mysticrose said:

Girl Alleges Stepmother Makes Her Stay Outside All Day


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A cousin told deputies she has called the Department of Children and Families about the family several times in the past few years, but nothing has been done.

http://www.wpbf.com/news/27502465/detail.html

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mysticrose said:

Stepmother’s abuse of Lakewood Park girl went on for years, deputies say

LAKEWOOD PARK — The father of a young, unkempt girl who was made to stay outside their home, even going to the bathroom in the backyard, said he feels sad about what happened.

“I’m not a troublemaker,” said Juan Moreno, 34, a landscape contractor who, along with his wife, Joanna Moreno, 31, was arrested Saturday on charges of felony child abuse of the girl, who is about 12, and domestic battery.

The domestic battery charge is in connection with a parental dispute that led deputies to the home and to coincidentally finding that the girl....

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/apr/12/dad-girl-kept-lakewood-park-backyard-sad-about-eve/

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jjenny said:

Cinderella story without a prince.
"According to police, the girl was routinely physically and emotionally abused by her stepmother, who would hit and slap her. Once the stepmother hit her in the head "with a shoe causing a gash.""
http://abcnews.go.com/US/florida-couple-makes-girl-stay-sleep-floor/story?id=13357693&page=1

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MorenoI said:

UPDATED From article above:

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/apr/12/dad-girl-kept-lakewood-park-backyard-sad-about-eve/

"One of our top priorities will be making sure she (the stepmother) has no contact with the children," said Assistant State Attorney Linda Baldree.

"The information we have is that she was the abuser and he failed to protect her (the girl)," Baldree said, while noting that she is still investigating the father's role in the case.

A court hearing hasn't been set.

The girl's stepmother has been released from the St. Lucie County Jail. Initially she was under a hold by federal immigration authorities but has since been released, a sheriff's official said.

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On the morning her trial on child abuse charges was to begin this week in Circuit Court, Joanna Aleman Moreno surprised the prosecutor by agreeing to a plea deal.

Moreno, 34, pleaded no contest to child abuse...

Juan Moreno also initially was charged, but those charges were soon dropped.

The Morenos are still together, but the child is now in custody of her mother, Baldree said...

The negotiated plea agreement calls for Moreno to serve 90 days in the St. Lucie County Jail, less the 17 days she was incarcerated before making bail after her May 2011 arrest, Baldree said.

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