imstilla.grandma
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idk . It’s not to me and I don’t subscribe…huh? I’m sorry. I now see it says Subscriber Exclusive but I can still read it…
Found Deceased CA - Sophia Mason, 8, reported missing a month later, mom in custody, Merced, 10 Feb 2022
- Thread starter GuyfromCanada
- Start date
More from that same article:
Although the DCFS records which have been heavily redacted by county officials do not provide any details about the allegations, Emerald Johnson said she filed the report after Samantha showed up at her mother’s house in Hayward with police officers to reassert her custody and remove Sophia from the home.
A safety and risk assessment completed by a DCFS social worker found that Sophia faced no safety threats at that time and was not at risk of future mistreatment, though it contains no notes with details from the case worker.
From there, Samantha took Sophia to live with her in a nearby motel, but within six weeks of that report to DCFS, four additional calls were made to the agency regarding concerns that Sophia was being physically abused and neglected, DCFS records show.
Yet in response to each of those calls — made between Feb. 2 and Feb. 22, 2021 — social workers determined that the allegations did not warrant an in-person evaluation nor any further investigation into Sophia’s well-being. Again, the records include no notes from social workers about why those determinations were made.
That was the finding even for a Feb. 11 call, which resulted from an extraordinary effort engineered by Emerald Johnson to save the girl.
Convinced Sophia was in peril, Emerald Johnson persuaded Samantha’s caseworker with the Regional Center, Sophia’s DCFS social worker, and Hayward police to join her in a Hayward park with Sophia and her mother to discuss the girl’s welfare. Police confirmed the meeting, saying that an officer provided security while DCFS conducted interviews.
Sophia, Emerald said, showed up shaking and crying, her body bruised and scabbed. When asked about the markings on her body, Sophia told the DCFS social worker that her mother and Jackson were beating her, Emerald said. But the revelation seemingly had no effect.
“At the park that day, that’s when I feel like they really could have saved her life,” Emerald said. “But then I watched (Samantha and Sophia) both get into the car together as Sophia was crying and shaking and begging to go with me.”
“It was awful,” Emerald added, “traumatizing honestly.”
Though DCFS records acknowledge receipt of two complaints on the date of the meeting, the material made public contains no references to the meeting itself. Instead, the material indicates simply that social workers decided the reports of suspected abuse did not meet their definition of abuse and did not warrant a further investigation.
After the confrontation at the park, relatives didn’t see Samantha or Sophia for several months; evidence suggests the mother took the girl to Southern California. During that same time frame, an OnlyFans page was created and used to post pornographic photos and videos of Samantha from May to September 2021.
…
When she left, she was a little pudgy but when she came back in June, she was like a rail,” Thompson said of the girl’s appearance. Samantha also seemed to be in bad shape. “It looked like they’d been dragged across the desert. They were dirty and smelly and the baby’s hair was uncombed and matted.”
Emerald Johnson said she spotted a large bruise on her niece’s right forearm.
Sophia, Emerald said, “pulled her arm away from me and said ‘Don’t ask me about it. Mom gets mad.’ I just remember I started crying and hugged her and told her ‘I’m still trying to fight for you.'”
Once again, Emerald called DCFS. And once more, records indicate that no one from the agency was sent out to assess Sophia, no further investigation ensued and no additional services were offered to the family.
After that call, Emerald said, Samantha slowly began cutting most of her family out of Sophia’s life. And yet, one final report was made to DCFS in September — six months before her body was found — when Samantha and Sophia were living in a sober living home in San Leandro.
This time, the scant DCFS records reveal, the complaint came not from relatives but from a “mandated reporter” — someone required by law to report suspicions of abuse.
Around that time, Sophia and her mother were involved in a car accident and they were transported in an ambulance to Kaiser Permanente’s San Leandro Medical Center to be evaluated, according to relatives.
It is unclear who called DCFS this final time to allege that Sophia was being physically abused, but authorities who responded to the crash, medical staff at the hospital and officials at the sober living home where Samantha and Sophia were staying would all fit the description of a mandated reporter.
Alameda County was required to release Sophia’s medical records to this news organization but claimed that none existed.
The DCFS conclusion did not vary, though: “Allegations appear to be unfounded. Case closed.”
In November, Samantha Jonhson was kicked out of the sober living facility for failing to follow the rules such as curfew and cleaning regimens, according to relatives, and she moved with Jackson and Sophia to Merced.
Sophia’s relatives never saw her again.
The disconnect couldn’t be clearer between the conduct of Alameda County DCFS and the realities of Sophia’s final 15 months. What is difficult to determine, from the sparse records the agency provided this news organization, is why.
Child abuse lawyers who have reviewed the records in Sophia’s case said it appears the agency is attempting to defy SB 39’s requirement that California child welfare agencies release detailed records about any child who dies from abuse or neglect.
Instead, after months of negotiation between the agency and an attorney for this news organization, Alameda County DCFS provided 42 pages of heavily edited records that failed to include any notes taken by employees in the agency’s call center or its social workers. Nor did it include reports submitted to law enforcement — only notations of when those were sent — although the law and DCFS’s own policies indicate such records should be provided.
DCFS’s Love claimed the agency released all required records, and that it would violate privacy laws to provide anything more. But Howard called that response “baffling.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “What this means is that the decision-makers and the public are effectively blocked from looking at this case to determine whether anything could be improved in the future — and that foreshadows more kids dying.”
Even so, the records DCFS did provide reveal errors and inconsistencies that lawyers who specialize in child abuse cases said could have changed the determination of the risks Sophia faced.
For example, Alameda County records indicate that DCFS did not send the required reports to law enforcement about the possible abuse of Sophia in a timely manner, and at least once failed to provide a report at all. Following one of the most worrisome referrals, alleging the physical abuse of Sophia, the agency failed to alert the Hayward Police Department for more than two months, according to the records.
In an interview with detectives after the disturbing discovery, Samantha Johnson described a DCFS case in Alameda County where “there was an allegation of Jackson touching (Sophia) in the crotch area,” the report states. She also told detectives that no forensic exam was completed on Sophia at that time.
Without any notes from social workers, it is unclear when that allegation was made to DCFS and what was done about it.
Samantha Johnson said that Jackson’s abuse escalated after moving to Merced and that they at times left Sophia in a metal shed in their backyard as punishment. She also admitted to disciplining her child on her own, including burning Sophia’s leg with a hot spoon and choking her on at least one occasion.
When asked what she thought forensic exams would indicate when experts checked Sophia’s body, the police report states Samantha Johnson replied that “it was going to show that her daughter was raped.”
Although the DCFS records which have been heavily redacted by county officials do not provide any details about the allegations, Emerald Johnson said she filed the report after Samantha showed up at her mother’s house in Hayward with police officers to reassert her custody and remove Sophia from the home.
A safety and risk assessment completed by a DCFS social worker found that Sophia faced no safety threats at that time and was not at risk of future mistreatment, though it contains no notes with details from the case worker.
From there, Samantha took Sophia to live with her in a nearby motel, but within six weeks of that report to DCFS, four additional calls were made to the agency regarding concerns that Sophia was being physically abused and neglected, DCFS records show.
Yet in response to each of those calls — made between Feb. 2 and Feb. 22, 2021 — social workers determined that the allegations did not warrant an in-person evaluation nor any further investigation into Sophia’s well-being. Again, the records include no notes from social workers about why those determinations were made.
That was the finding even for a Feb. 11 call, which resulted from an extraordinary effort engineered by Emerald Johnson to save the girl.
Convinced Sophia was in peril, Emerald Johnson persuaded Samantha’s caseworker with the Regional Center, Sophia’s DCFS social worker, and Hayward police to join her in a Hayward park with Sophia and her mother to discuss the girl’s welfare. Police confirmed the meeting, saying that an officer provided security while DCFS conducted interviews.
Sophia, Emerald said, showed up shaking and crying, her body bruised and scabbed. When asked about the markings on her body, Sophia told the DCFS social worker that her mother and Jackson were beating her, Emerald said. But the revelation seemingly had no effect.
“At the park that day, that’s when I feel like they really could have saved her life,” Emerald said. “But then I watched (Samantha and Sophia) both get into the car together as Sophia was crying and shaking and begging to go with me.”
“It was awful,” Emerald added, “traumatizing honestly.”
Though DCFS records acknowledge receipt of two complaints on the date of the meeting, the material made public contains no references to the meeting itself. Instead, the material indicates simply that social workers decided the reports of suspected abuse did not meet their definition of abuse and did not warrant a further investigation.
After the confrontation at the park, relatives didn’t see Samantha or Sophia for several months; evidence suggests the mother took the girl to Southern California. During that same time frame, an OnlyFans page was created and used to post pornographic photos and videos of Samantha from May to September 2021.
…
When she left, she was a little pudgy but when she came back in June, she was like a rail,” Thompson said of the girl’s appearance. Samantha also seemed to be in bad shape. “It looked like they’d been dragged across the desert. They were dirty and smelly and the baby’s hair was uncombed and matted.”
Emerald Johnson said she spotted a large bruise on her niece’s right forearm.
Sophia, Emerald said, “pulled her arm away from me and said ‘Don’t ask me about it. Mom gets mad.’ I just remember I started crying and hugged her and told her ‘I’m still trying to fight for you.'”
Once again, Emerald called DCFS. And once more, records indicate that no one from the agency was sent out to assess Sophia, no further investigation ensued and no additional services were offered to the family.
After that call, Emerald said, Samantha slowly began cutting most of her family out of Sophia’s life. And yet, one final report was made to DCFS in September — six months before her body was found — when Samantha and Sophia were living in a sober living home in San Leandro.
This time, the scant DCFS records reveal, the complaint came not from relatives but from a “mandated reporter” — someone required by law to report suspicions of abuse.
Around that time, Sophia and her mother were involved in a car accident and they were transported in an ambulance to Kaiser Permanente’s San Leandro Medical Center to be evaluated, according to relatives.
It is unclear who called DCFS this final time to allege that Sophia was being physically abused, but authorities who responded to the crash, medical staff at the hospital and officials at the sober living home where Samantha and Sophia were staying would all fit the description of a mandated reporter.
Alameda County was required to release Sophia’s medical records to this news organization but claimed that none existed.
The DCFS conclusion did not vary, though: “Allegations appear to be unfounded. Case closed.”
In November, Samantha Jonhson was kicked out of the sober living facility for failing to follow the rules such as curfew and cleaning regimens, according to relatives, and she moved with Jackson and Sophia to Merced.
Sophia’s relatives never saw her again.
The disconnect couldn’t be clearer between the conduct of Alameda County DCFS and the realities of Sophia’s final 15 months. What is difficult to determine, from the sparse records the agency provided this news organization, is why.
Child abuse lawyers who have reviewed the records in Sophia’s case said it appears the agency is attempting to defy SB 39’s requirement that California child welfare agencies release detailed records about any child who dies from abuse or neglect.
Instead, after months of negotiation between the agency and an attorney for this news organization, Alameda County DCFS provided 42 pages of heavily edited records that failed to include any notes taken by employees in the agency’s call center or its social workers. Nor did it include reports submitted to law enforcement — only notations of when those were sent — although the law and DCFS’s own policies indicate such records should be provided.
DCFS’s Love claimed the agency released all required records, and that it would violate privacy laws to provide anything more. But Howard called that response “baffling.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “What this means is that the decision-makers and the public are effectively blocked from looking at this case to determine whether anything could be improved in the future — and that foreshadows more kids dying.”
Even so, the records DCFS did provide reveal errors and inconsistencies that lawyers who specialize in child abuse cases said could have changed the determination of the risks Sophia faced.
For example, Alameda County records indicate that DCFS did not send the required reports to law enforcement about the possible abuse of Sophia in a timely manner, and at least once failed to provide a report at all. Following one of the most worrisome referrals, alleging the physical abuse of Sophia, the agency failed to alert the Hayward Police Department for more than two months, according to the records.
In an interview with detectives after the disturbing discovery, Samantha Johnson described a DCFS case in Alameda County where “there was an allegation of Jackson touching (Sophia) in the crotch area,” the report states. She also told detectives that no forensic exam was completed on Sophia at that time.
Without any notes from social workers, it is unclear when that allegation was made to DCFS and what was done about it.
Samantha Johnson said that Jackson’s abuse escalated after moving to Merced and that they at times left Sophia in a metal shed in their backyard as punishment. She also admitted to disciplining her child on her own, including burning Sophia’s leg with a hot spoon and choking her on at least one occasion.
When asked what she thought forensic exams would indicate when experts checked Sophia’s body, the police report states Samantha Johnson replied that “it was going to show that her daughter was raped.”
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Linear13
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What is happening in our country? This is becoming endemic. How many children are being tortured RIGHT NOW? How many ‘caretakers’ have been repeatedly turned in to DCFS only to keep custody. I have a feeling that every time these children get questioned by DCFS the abuse gets worse. Every time the ‘caretaker’ wants to make sure that next time the child says and does the right thing. Now we end up with another deceased child and DCFS and police were involved many times and nothing was done…nothing. What exactly is DCFS standard of abuse?
This is all my opinion only and speculation. If the mother was involved in p o r n and then she admits the child was raped they need to look into the possibility they were using the child for illegal photos/videos. Which means others could be involved. This is all MOO and speculatio.
This is all my opinion only and speculation. If the mother was involved in p o r n and then she admits the child was raped they need to look into the possibility they were using the child for illegal photos/videos. Which means others could be involved. This is all MOO and speculatio.
PommyMommy
#ShinelikeShanann
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SEP 11, 2022
www.whec.com
[...]
After a months-long manhunt, Dhante Jackson was taken into custody Saturday in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Newark on suspicion of killing Sophia Mason, the California attorney general’s office said.
[...]
Jackson, 34, also faces murder and child abuse charges. It wasn’t known Sunday if he has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Four other people were arrested Saturday on suspicion of helping Jackson evade arrest, the attorney general’s office said.
[...]
Johnson told a Merced police detective that Jackson, her boyfriend, had kept Sophia in a shed outside the Merced house and that the child was subjected to physical and sexual abuse by Jackson.
Mother’s boyfriend arrested in killing of California girl, 8
MERCED, Calif. (AP) — Police have arrested a suspect in the death of an 8-year-old girl whose body was found last March inside a central California home after the child was reported missing, authorities said.
www.whec.com
After a months-long manhunt, Dhante Jackson was taken into custody Saturday in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Newark on suspicion of killing Sophia Mason, the California attorney general’s office said.
[...]
Jackson, 34, also faces murder and child abuse charges. It wasn’t known Sunday if he has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Four other people were arrested Saturday on suspicion of helping Jackson evade arrest, the attorney general’s office said.
[...]
Johnson told a Merced police detective that Jackson, her boyfriend, had kept Sophia in a shed outside the Merced house and that the child was subjected to physical and sexual abuse by Jackson.
cocomod
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So glad he is finally off the streets and that the people who helped him have also been arrested.
Now, on to justice for Sophia! I also think DFS should be held accountable for their lack of appropriate response! They saw the bruises! Sophia told them directly! Yet, they sent her back home for more.
Now, on to justice for Sophia! I also think DFS should be held accountable for their lack of appropriate response! They saw the bruises! Sophia told them directly! Yet, they sent her back home for more.
imstilla.grandma
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PommyMommy
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SEP 12, 2022
www.nbcbayarea.com
Three other people - in addition to Johnson - were arrested Saturday on suspicion of helping Jackson evade arrest, Perez said.
Laronna Larkins, 42, of Merced, Mayra Gonzalez, 33, of Newark and Daberka Thompson, 40, of San Jose were arrested for accessory to murder charges.
“In my 20 years of law enforcement, this case is the most disturbing and horrific that I’ve seen,” the lieutenant said.
www.cbsnews.com
Police said three women have been charged with accessory to murder after the fact for providing "money, shelter and transportation" to Jackson, CBS Bay Area reported. The women arrested were identified as San Jose resident D'Burkah Johnson, Merced resident Larona Larkin and Newark resident Myra Guiterrez.
www.ktvu.com
Police said Jackson was living with Gonzalez at the time of his arrest on Saturday in Newark.
All the women have been arrested for accessory to murder after the fact.
Relatives of Sophia Mason and her mother Samantha Johnson, 30, said more information will likely be revealed as to why the women were helping Jackson.
‘This is the Most Disturbing and Horrific That I've Seen:' Mother's Boyfriend Arrested in Killing of Sophia Mason
After a months-long manhunt, police arrested a suspect in the death of an 8-year-old girl who had been reported missing before her body was found last March inside a central California home, authorities said Sunday.
www.nbcbayarea.com
Laronna Larkins, 42, of Merced, Mayra Gonzalez, 33, of Newark and Daberka Thompson, 40, of San Jose were arrested for accessory to murder charges.
“In my 20 years of law enforcement, this case is the most disturbing and horrific that I’ve seen,” the lieutenant said.
Mother's boyfriend arrested 6 months after California girl found dead in bathtub
"In my 20 years of law enforcement, this case is the most disturbing and horrific that I've seen," a lieutenant said.
www.cbsnews.com
3 women accused of helping alleged killer of 8-year-old Sophia Mason evade police
Three women are accused of helping the alleged killer of 8-year-old Sophia Mason evade police for six months.
All the women have been arrested for accessory to murder after the fact.
Relatives of Sophia Mason and her mother Samantha Johnson, 30, said more information will likely be revealed as to why the women were helping Jackson.
PommyMommy
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SEP 12, 2022
www.kron4.com
Sophia Mason’s family knew the eight-year-old Hayward girl’s life was in grave danger living with her biological mother and mother’s boyfriend. The girl’s grandmother and aunt made repeated pleas to Alameda County CPS to investigate abuse and neglect. But time and time again, CPS did nothing, according to a newly-filed wrongful death petition.
Sophia lived seven years of her short life, happily, with her loving grandmother, Sylvia Johnson, at her grandmother’s house in Hayward. Everything changed when Sophia’s mother, Samantha Johnson, reappeared in her life and took her daughter back in January of 2021, according to the petition.
Sophia’s extended family members were concerned because they knew Johnson was mentally ill, worked as a prostitute, and didn’t have a place to live. They asked Johnson about why she suddenly wanted her daughter back.
“The only thing that (Johnson) said was that she had a new boyfriend, Dhante Jackson, and that he wanted to meet Sophia. This guy specifically asked for Sophia,” Melissa Harris said.
[...]
According to Harris, Johnson worked as a prostitute, suffered from mental illness, and cycled between living in motel rooms and homeless shelters. Sophia stopped going to school.
“In early 2021, Sophia’s mother, Samantha Johnson, reappeared in her life and took Sophia into her care and custody. Almost immediately, the County of Alameda began receiving child abuse hotline referrals alleging that Sophia was the victim of abuse and neglect while in her mother’s care. Agents of the County of Alameda … failed to take necessary action to protect the minor’s safety, health, welfare, growth, and development. Rather, they knowingly allowed Sophia to remain in the home with her mother, who suffered from untreated mental illnesses, and her mother’s abusive boyfriend. The County of Alameda received seven emergency hotline referrals between January 2021 and Sophia’s death just 14 months later. It did not even bother investigating five of those referrals, and simply evaluated them out.”
[...]
Sophia was reported missing on March 8 after her grandmother received a disturbing phone call from Johnson, who said she was planning to visit the grandmother without Sophia. When the grandmother asked about Sophia’s whereabouts, “Samantha said, ‘I got rid of her. I was tired of her,’” according to Harris.
Three days later, Sophia was found dead. Investigators said they believe the girl had been dead for one month before her body was found.
[...]
Lt. Perez said the Sophia Mason case was one of the worst cases of child abuse he’d ever seen. “To know what that poor little angel went through at the hands of pure evil breaks my heart,” he said. “I will never understand how this could happen to a beautiful child who just wanted to be loved.”
Lt. Perez postponed his retirement from 27 years in law enforcement to ensure justice for Sophia.
[...]
(The entire petition is included in the article.)
Alameda County CPS failed to protect Sophia Mason, petition states
HAYWARD, Calif. (KRON) — Sophia Mason’s family knew the eight-year-old Hayward girl’s life was in grave danger living with her biological mother and mother’s boyfriend. The …
www.kron4.com
Sophia lived seven years of her short life, happily, with her loving grandmother, Sylvia Johnson, at her grandmother’s house in Hayward. Everything changed when Sophia’s mother, Samantha Johnson, reappeared in her life and took her daughter back in January of 2021, according to the petition.
Sophia’s extended family members were concerned because they knew Johnson was mentally ill, worked as a prostitute, and didn’t have a place to live. They asked Johnson about why she suddenly wanted her daughter back.
“The only thing that (Johnson) said was that she had a new boyfriend, Dhante Jackson, and that he wanted to meet Sophia. This guy specifically asked for Sophia,” Melissa Harris said.
[...]
According to Harris, Johnson worked as a prostitute, suffered from mental illness, and cycled between living in motel rooms and homeless shelters. Sophia stopped going to school.
“In early 2021, Sophia’s mother, Samantha Johnson, reappeared in her life and took Sophia into her care and custody. Almost immediately, the County of Alameda began receiving child abuse hotline referrals alleging that Sophia was the victim of abuse and neglect while in her mother’s care. Agents of the County of Alameda … failed to take necessary action to protect the minor’s safety, health, welfare, growth, and development. Rather, they knowingly allowed Sophia to remain in the home with her mother, who suffered from untreated mental illnesses, and her mother’s abusive boyfriend. The County of Alameda received seven emergency hotline referrals between January 2021 and Sophia’s death just 14 months later. It did not even bother investigating five of those referrals, and simply evaluated them out.”
[...]
Sophia was reported missing on March 8 after her grandmother received a disturbing phone call from Johnson, who said she was planning to visit the grandmother without Sophia. When the grandmother asked about Sophia’s whereabouts, “Samantha said, ‘I got rid of her. I was tired of her,’” according to Harris.
Three days later, Sophia was found dead. Investigators said they believe the girl had been dead for one month before her body was found.
[...]
Lt. Perez said the Sophia Mason case was one of the worst cases of child abuse he’d ever seen. “To know what that poor little angel went through at the hands of pure evil breaks my heart,” he said. “I will never understand how this could happen to a beautiful child who just wanted to be loved.”
Lt. Perez postponed his retirement from 27 years in law enforcement to ensure justice for Sophia.
[...]
(The entire petition is included in the article.)
PommyMommy
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SEP 14, 2022
abc30.com
Both of Sophia Mason's alleged murderers made brief appearances in court on Wednesday.
Dhante Jackson was expected to enter a plea after being accused of murdering his girlfriend's eight-year-old daughter but instead, his arraignment was continued to give the defendant more time to get his own attorney.
"He's indicated that he does have the means to hire an attorney and just needs time to do that," says Deputy District Attorney Katie Gates.
The victim's mother, Samantha Johnson, also was in court but not seated.
Prosecutors filed a new complaint with an added strike against Jackson but since the two are co-defendants, Johnson had to be arraigned again and entered a not guilty plea.
[...]
Jackson and Johnson will both be back in court next Wednesday.
Man and woman arrested for death of Sophia Mason in Merced appear in court
Both of Sophia Mason's alleged murderers made brief appearances in court on Wednesday.
Dhante Jackson was expected to enter a plea after being accused of murdering his girlfriend's eight-year-old daughter but instead, his arraignment was continued to give the defendant more time to get his own attorney.
"He's indicated that he does have the means to hire an attorney and just needs time to do that," says Deputy District Attorney Katie Gates.
The victim's mother, Samantha Johnson, also was in court but not seated.
Prosecutors filed a new complaint with an added strike against Jackson but since the two are co-defendants, Johnson had to be arraigned again and entered a not guilty plea.
[...]
Jackson and Johnson will both be back in court next Wednesday.
PommyMommy
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SEP 21, 2022
www.yourcentralvalley.com
[...]
34-year-old Dhante Jackson pled not guilty to charges of suspicion of murder and child abuse in connection to the death of 8-year-old Sophia Mason.
While in court, Jackson also asked if he could be put into a one-man cell, but the judge said the decision was up to the jail.
[...]
Johnson also pled not guilty to the same charges Jackson is facing through her attorney in court last week.
A preliminary hearing for Jackson has been set for November 2.
Dhante Jackson pleads not guilty in Sophia Mason’s death
MERCED, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A man suspected of killing an 8-year-old girl earlier this year in Merced pled not guilty to the charges in court on Wednesday morning. 34-year-old Dhante Jackson…
www.yourcentralvalley.com
34-year-old Dhante Jackson pled not guilty to charges of suspicion of murder and child abuse in connection to the death of 8-year-old Sophia Mason.
While in court, Jackson also asked if he could be put into a one-man cell, but the judge said the decision was up to the jail.
[...]
Johnson also pled not guilty to the same charges Jackson is facing through her attorney in court last week.
A preliminary hearing for Jackson has been set for November 2.
PommyMommy
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Every article I read about this case seems to get worse. This poor sweet baby girl... 
SEP 13, 2022
www.yourcentralvalley.com
[...]
The police report also said Johnson told detectives that on February 10th, a month before Mason’s body was found, Johnson brought her in from the backyard shed for “a shower,” Once inside, the report said Johnson told detectives Jackson got “upset, “pulled Mason by her hair,” and “threw Mason on the ground.”
Documents state Johnson got her daughter ready to bathe, left to go upstairs, and then heard a “thud”/”boom.”
“In my twenty years in law enforcement, this case is one of the most disturbing and horrific I’ve seen,” said Merced Police Department Lt. Joseph Perez during a press conference Sunday.
Johnson told detectives that the next day, she knocked on the locked bathroom door and said “Sophia, Sophia” but never saw the little girl again. The report said Johnson told detectives that she thought Mason ran away and she looked for her for two weeks.
The detectives asked if Johnson ever went into the locked bathroom or tried to go in through the door or the window. The report said Johnson said she did not, they were locked.
Johnson did not file a missing person’s report. According to the report, Johnson told detectives Jackson abused her daughter “too often.” Again, documents said Johnson never made a police report.
Police said Johnson did admit to choking her daughter in the past but she denied being involved in Mason’s death.
[...]
SEP 13, 2022
New details revealed in Sophia Mason’s death
MERCED, Calif. (KGPE) – A new Merced police report is revealing new details about the homicide investigation regarding the death of 8-year-old Sophia Mason. Mason was found dead in a Merced h…
www.yourcentralvalley.com
The police report also said Johnson told detectives that on February 10th, a month before Mason’s body was found, Johnson brought her in from the backyard shed for “a shower,” Once inside, the report said Johnson told detectives Jackson got “upset, “pulled Mason by her hair,” and “threw Mason on the ground.”
Documents state Johnson got her daughter ready to bathe, left to go upstairs, and then heard a “thud”/”boom.”
“In my twenty years in law enforcement, this case is one of the most disturbing and horrific I’ve seen,” said Merced Police Department Lt. Joseph Perez during a press conference Sunday.
Johnson told detectives that the next day, she knocked on the locked bathroom door and said “Sophia, Sophia” but never saw the little girl again. The report said Johnson told detectives that she thought Mason ran away and she looked for her for two weeks.
The detectives asked if Johnson ever went into the locked bathroom or tried to go in through the door or the window. The report said Johnson said she did not, they were locked.
Johnson did not file a missing person’s report. According to the report, Johnson told detectives Jackson abused her daughter “too often.” Again, documents said Johnson never made a police report.
Police said Johnson did admit to choking her daughter in the past but she denied being involved in Mason’s death.
[...]
PommyMommy
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OCT 19, 2022
www.latimes.com
Before 8-year-old Sophia Mason’s body was found curled inside a bathtub in a Merced home, the young girl’s extended family tried desperately to raise the alarm.
For more than a year, Sophia’s aunt, grandmother, teachers and doctors reported signs the girl was being abused and neglected, at times pleading with social workers to remove her from her mother’s care.
There had been bruises and scabs and what looked like cigarette burns on her body. All were reported to child welfare workers, according to a legal claim filed against the county.
[...]
According to the legal claim filed Sept. 8 against Alameda County, Sophia’s extended family and others who knew the child made at least seven emergency child welfare calls in 14 months, but officials investigated only two. The claim — a precursor to a wrongful death lawsuit — also alleges that despite a requirement that law enforcement be alerted about allegations of abuse within 36 hours of their being reported, one of the incidents was flagged to police two months later.
[...]
An investigation by the Mercury News found that social workers made glaring errors in their inquiries into Sophia’s care and failed to notify law enforcement when police should have been involved. Family members said multiple calls were ignored. When caseworkers responded, the newspaper reported, they sometimes made significant errors that could have affected the assessment of Sophia’s life at home, including one notation that Sophia’s mother had no history of drug or alcohol abuse even though she was residing at a sober living home at the time.
[...]
In one referral, Sophia’s mother is accused of striking and choking the child and trying to muffle her screams. Officials found bruises on Sophia’s arms, thighs and torso, and learned the girl had not been at school in weeks. She told caseworkers her mother’s friends hit her.
In another referral, social workers were told Sophia had been exposed to her mother’s prostitution. Johnson said she contacted caseworkers at least once after she found an online ad soliciting prostitution that appeared to be posted by her sister.
Although reports were taken, neither call prompted any significant action from social workers, Johnson said.
[...]
It wouldn’t be until late February that family members realized something was more seriously amiss, Johnson said. For days, her sister called their mother, but when asked about Sophia, she would refuse to put the girl on the phone, saying she was asleep.
When her mother insisted on talking to Sophia, Johnson said her sister tried to change her voice and pretended to be Sophia. When confronted, the girl’s mother said she “couldn’t handle her and I just gave her away,” Johnson said.
The family hoped the comment meant that social services had finally removed Sophia from her care.
[...]
They begged social workers to save 8-year-old Sophia Mason. She was found dead in a bathtub
Relatives say social workers failed to heed warnings Sophia Mason was being abused by her mother and her mother's boyfriend before she was found dead.
www.latimes.com
For more than a year, Sophia’s aunt, grandmother, teachers and doctors reported signs the girl was being abused and neglected, at times pleading with social workers to remove her from her mother’s care.
There had been bruises and scabs and what looked like cigarette burns on her body. All were reported to child welfare workers, according to a legal claim filed against the county.
[...]
According to the legal claim filed Sept. 8 against Alameda County, Sophia’s extended family and others who knew the child made at least seven emergency child welfare calls in 14 months, but officials investigated only two. The claim — a precursor to a wrongful death lawsuit — also alleges that despite a requirement that law enforcement be alerted about allegations of abuse within 36 hours of their being reported, one of the incidents was flagged to police two months later.
[...]
An investigation by the Mercury News found that social workers made glaring errors in their inquiries into Sophia’s care and failed to notify law enforcement when police should have been involved. Family members said multiple calls were ignored. When caseworkers responded, the newspaper reported, they sometimes made significant errors that could have affected the assessment of Sophia’s life at home, including one notation that Sophia’s mother had no history of drug or alcohol abuse even though she was residing at a sober living home at the time.
[...]
In one referral, Sophia’s mother is accused of striking and choking the child and trying to muffle her screams. Officials found bruises on Sophia’s arms, thighs and torso, and learned the girl had not been at school in weeks. She told caseworkers her mother’s friends hit her.
In another referral, social workers were told Sophia had been exposed to her mother’s prostitution. Johnson said she contacted caseworkers at least once after she found an online ad soliciting prostitution that appeared to be posted by her sister.
Although reports were taken, neither call prompted any significant action from social workers, Johnson said.
[...]
It wouldn’t be until late February that family members realized something was more seriously amiss, Johnson said. For days, her sister called their mother, but when asked about Sophia, she would refuse to put the girl on the phone, saying she was asleep.
When her mother insisted on talking to Sophia, Johnson said her sister tried to change her voice and pretended to be Sophia. When confronted, the girl’s mother said she “couldn’t handle her and I just gave her away,” Johnson said.
The family hoped the comment meant that social services had finally removed Sophia from her care.
[...]
imstilla.grandma
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Newly-obtained documents in the killing of Sophia Mason show that Hayward police – after getting a missing person’s report about the 8-year-old in March 2022 – swiftly determined what Alameda County social workers had failed to see for more than a year: The girl was in danger and needed immediate help.
But by the time officers found Sophia just three days later, it was too late. She was already dead, decomposing in the bathtub of a house where her mother and the mother’s boyfriend had lived in Merced.
The documents, compiled by police and obtained after this news organization successfully sought a court order, confirm the findings of ongoing reporting by the Bay Area News Group detailing how Alameda County’s Department of Children and Family Services failed to protect Sophia in the year before she died. County social workers repeatedly ignored evidence of the danger Sophia was in under her mother’s care— and did not meet their legal obligations to elevate allegations of abuse to law enforcement.
The revelations also underscore emerging concerns about systemic issues within Alameda County’s child welfare agency, which compares poorly to its peers across California in meeting state requirements for timely action to protect the vulnerable children under its charge.
The repeated failures by DCFS to take routine investigative measures is deeply disturbing, said Nicol Stolar-Peterson, a licensed clinical social worker who routinely testifies as an expert witness in child abuse cases.
“It’s extremely troubling, because it’s really the basics,” Stolar-Peterson said. “We’re talking about basic minimum steps — again, which is standard of care. And that’s concerning because we’re talking about children’s lives and children’s safety.”
Hayward police began their investigation in response to a missing persons report filed by Sophia’s aunt on March 8, 2022. They quickly reviewed Sophia’s records from Alameda County DCFS, as well as her spotty school attendance reports, and learned that Sophia’s mother, Samantha Johnson, had a history of prostitution, including an active OnlyFans account.
“I am concerned for Sophia’s welfare,” Officer Jennifer Kell wrote in one report. She cited a mounting pile of facts, including a report of “genital bruises made by Kaiser employee (sic) to CPS and the school information that Sophia has not been enrolled or attended school in California since October 2021.”
‘This tragedy was avoidable’: New records show how Hayward police found 8-year-old Sophia Mason — but it was already too late
More than a year after Sophia Mason’s death, new records released by Hayward police show that officers picked up on the dangers she faced — dangers that Alameda County social workers ha…
www.mercurynews.com
PommyMommy
#ShinelikeShanann
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MONSTERS!!! Where is the puke emoji?!
Newly-obtained documents in the killing of Sophia Mason show that Hayward police – after getting a missing person’s report about the 8-year-old in March 2022 – swiftly determined what Alameda County social workers had failed to see for more than a year: The girl was in danger and needed immediate help.
But by the time officers found Sophia just three days later, it was too late. She was already dead, decomposing in the bathtub of a house where her mother and the mother’s boyfriend had lived in Merced.
The documents, compiled by police and obtained after this news organization successfully sought a court order, confirm the findings of ongoing reporting by the Bay Area News Group detailing how Alameda County’s Department of Children and Family Services failed to protect Sophia in the year before she died. County social workers repeatedly ignored evidence of the danger Sophia was in under her mother’s care— and did not meet their legal obligations to elevate allegations of abuse to law enforcement.
The revelations also underscore emerging concerns about systemic issues within Alameda County’s child welfare agency, which compares poorly to its peers across California in meeting state requirements for timely action to protect the vulnerable children under its charge.
The repeated failures by DCFS to take routine investigative measures is deeply disturbing, said Nicol Stolar-Peterson, a licensed clinical social worker who routinely testifies as an expert witness in child abuse cases.
“It’s extremely troubling, because it’s really the basics,” Stolar-Peterson said. “We’re talking about basic minimum steps — again, which is standard of care. And that’s concerning because we’re talking about children’s lives and children’s safety.”
Hayward police began their investigation in response to a missing persons report filed by Sophia’s aunt on March 8, 2022. They quickly reviewed Sophia’s records from Alameda County DCFS, as well as her spotty school attendance reports, and learned that Sophia’s mother, Samantha Johnson, had a history of prostitution, including an active OnlyFans account.
Samantha Johnson at a court appearance in the Merced County Courthouse on Monday, March 27 in Merced. Johnson is accused of child abuse and murder in the death of her 8 year old daughter Sophia Mason. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
“I am concerned for Sophia’s welfare,” Officer Jennifer Kell wrote in one report. She cited a mounting pile of facts, including a report of “genital bruises made by Kaiser employee (sic) to CPS and the school information that Sophia has not been enrolled or attended school in California since October 2021.”
‘This tragedy was avoidable’: New records show how Hayward police found 8-year-old Sophia Mason — but it was already too late
More than a year after Sophia Mason’s death, new records released by Hayward police show that officers picked up on the dangers she faced — dangers that Alameda County social workers ha…
Clinicians at the hospital noted that the girl had suspicious bruising across her back, buttocks, hip and thigh, as well as apparent cigarette burns on her arms. None of those injuries looked like they could have come from a car crash or from falling off monkey bars, as Sophia’s mother claimed.
Samantha admitted that she had lied to Kaiser workers in the fall of 2021 and that Sophia’s injuries at that time were the result of her boyfriend, Dhante Jackson, beating the girl with a belt. She also described Johnson’s physical and sexual abuse of Sophia in Merced, including that he would “punch her in the face,” “lift her from her ponytails,” and had “put his we-wee in her mouth.” She told officers she was “unable to stop him when he was in rage mode, hitting Sophia.”
UNABLE TO STOP HIM? GMAB. YOU TAKE YOUR BABY AND RUN!!! MOO
PommyMommy
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APR 3, 2023
www.mercurynews.com
Alameda County Department of Children and Family Services workers failed at nearly every turn to protect 8-year-old Sophia Mason in the last 14 months of her life — breaking more than a dozen state child welfare regulations and later falsifying records to cover their tracks, according to a lawsuit filed by the family against the county Monday.
“It’s horrifying — not only did they fail to protect Sophia while she was alive, even in her death they’re failing to admit mistakes that they made,” said Carly Sanchez, an attorney for Sophia’s grandmother, Sylvia Johnson.
[...]
The lawsuit claims that despite medical workers’ concerns, DCFS told the hospital it was okay for Sophia to leave with her mother and that there was no need to call law enforcement. A social worker claimed in county records to have seen the girl two days later and reported no signs of abuse.
But, the suit says, the county later acknowledged that was false; no one from DCFS saw Sophia in person after that September 2021 report.
[...]
Among the suit’s allegations, it states that county social workers failed to conduct an in-person investigation within 10 days of reports of abuse or neglect of Sophia, as required by law. ...
Social workers also failed to make the required number of visits to Sophia during the initial month of its investigations and failed to properly track down and speak to those who may have had information about the girl, the lawsuit alleges. Nor did the county properly vet the criminal histories of the people who had been in contact with her — including Dhante Jackson — according to the legal filing.
In another violation of state law, the county did not create a case plan for Sophia ... The suit also alleges that Alameda County social workers did not notify law enforcement of the reports of suspected abuse against Sophia ...
[...]
Family of Sophia Mason sues Alameda County, alleges social workers falsified records to cover up ‘horrifying inaction’ before 8-year-old’s death
The lawsuit confirms the findings of multiple Bay Area News Group investigations that uncovered deep deficiencies in the Alameda County’s safety net for children.
www.mercurynews.com
“It’s horrifying — not only did they fail to protect Sophia while she was alive, even in her death they’re failing to admit mistakes that they made,” said Carly Sanchez, an attorney for Sophia’s grandmother, Sylvia Johnson.
[...]
The lawsuit claims that despite medical workers’ concerns, DCFS told the hospital it was okay for Sophia to leave with her mother and that there was no need to call law enforcement. A social worker claimed in county records to have seen the girl two days later and reported no signs of abuse.
But, the suit says, the county later acknowledged that was false; no one from DCFS saw Sophia in person after that September 2021 report.
[...]
Among the suit’s allegations, it states that county social workers failed to conduct an in-person investigation within 10 days of reports of abuse or neglect of Sophia, as required by law. ...
Social workers also failed to make the required number of visits to Sophia during the initial month of its investigations and failed to properly track down and speak to those who may have had information about the girl, the lawsuit alleges. Nor did the county properly vet the criminal histories of the people who had been in contact with her — including Dhante Jackson — according to the legal filing.
In another violation of state law, the county did not create a case plan for Sophia ... The suit also alleges that Alameda County social workers did not notify law enforcement of the reports of suspected abuse against Sophia ...
[...]
imstilla.grandma
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This undated photo released by Hayward Police Department shows Sophia Mason, who went missing at the age of 8 and whose body was found in Merced, Calif.
Just over a year after 8-year-old Sophia Mason’s body was found decomposing in a bathtub in central California where her mother and mother’s boyfriend had lived, her grandmother filed a lawsuit against Alameda County, alleging that social workers refused to investigate numerous child abuse claims made in the 14 months leading up to her death.
Sophia’s aunt, Emerald Johnson, reported Sophia missing on March 8, 2022, after telling Hayward, Calif., police that she had not seen the girl since December 2021. On March 11, 2022, Merced police discovered Sophia’s body in the bathtub of a locked bathroom in a home where Sophia had been staying in Merced with her mother, Samantha Johnson, 31, and her mother’s boyfriend, Dhante Jackson, 34. Officials said that by the time police found her, she had already been dead for about a month.
Johnson and Jackson have been charged with murder and felony child abuse, and remain in custody at the Merced County jail while they wait for an evidentiary hearing set for early June. Johnson has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“Her mother had a difficult life and perhaps some mental or intellectual disabilities, but she did not display a great amount of interest in Sophia for most of her life,” Carly Sanchez, an attorney for the grandmother, Silvia Johnson, told Yahoo News. “So grandma stepped in to take care of her and raise her.”
Family of girl found dead files suit against Alameda County claiming child services failed to probe abuse
Just over a year after 8-year-old Sophia Mason’s body was found decomposing in a bathtub where her mother and mother’s boyfriend had lived in central California, her grandmother filed a lawsuit against Alameda County, claiming social workers refused to investigate numerous child abuse claims...
PommyMommy
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MAY 24, 2023
abc30.com
The fight for justice for 8-year-old Mason continues not just in the Central Valley, but also in the Bay Area.
On Tuesday, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to authorize an independent investigation into the county's handling of her case.
"I am requesting, respectively, that the board support an independent investigation following a very horrifically tragic death," Supervisor Lena Tam said.
www.ktvu.com
Sophia's grandmother also filed a lawsuit in April accusing the department of not properly investigating complaints of abuse or neglect.
Alameda County launches investigation into Sophia Mason's death
The fight for justice for 8-year-old Sophia Mason continues not just in the Central Valley, but also in the Bay Area.
On Tuesday, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to authorize an independent investigation into the county's handling of her case.
"I am requesting, respectively, that the board support an independent investigation following a very horrifically tragic death," Supervisor Lena Tam said.
Alameda County launches independent investigation into Sophia Mason case
Alameda County has launched an independent investigation into the death of an 8-year-old girl from Hayward.
PommyMommy
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JUN 22, 2023
www.hayward-ca.gov
The City of Hayward filed a lawsuit today asking a judge to intervene to protect children at an Alameda County transitional center where foster children frequently go missing and are knowingly being exposed to and/or coerced into drug use, assaults and other forms of violence, sex trafficking and prostitution.
[...]
“As a consequence of the County’s deliberate indifference and failure to act or intervene, the City has deployed officers from the Hayward Police Department (HPD) on hundreds of occasions since mid-February to investigate complaints of missing children, drug overdoses, assaults, human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children within the Center and in the surrounding neighborhood,” City Attorney Michael Lawson wrote in a June 14 letter putting the County on notice of the pending lawsuit. Lawson reminded the County of the death of Sophia Mason, the eight-year-old child whose homicide last year highlighted the mishandling of at-risk children by social service administrators.
Conditions at the Assessment Center spiraled following the inexplicable withdrawal on Feb. 15 of Alameda County Sheriff’s Office deputies who had provided security for the Center.
Since the deputies’ departure, calls to Hayward police and firefighter-paramedics related to the Center skyrocketed—including for AWOL children as young as 10 years of age, drug overdoses, assaults on staff, and sex trafficking of children by older youth in the Center—and have resulted in more than 750 police-officer-hours spent responding to, following up on and investigating Center-related calls and incidents.
[...]
Hayward sues Alameda County over failure to protect foster children at transitional center | City of Hayward - Official website
HAYWARD, Calif., June 22, 2023— The City of Hayward filed a lawsuit today asking a judge to intervene to protect children at an Alameda County transitional center where foster children frequently go missing and are knowingly being exposed to and/or coerced into drug use, assaults and other forms...
www.hayward-ca.gov
[...]
“As a consequence of the County’s deliberate indifference and failure to act or intervene, the City has deployed officers from the Hayward Police Department (HPD) on hundreds of occasions since mid-February to investigate complaints of missing children, drug overdoses, assaults, human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children within the Center and in the surrounding neighborhood,” City Attorney Michael Lawson wrote in a June 14 letter putting the County on notice of the pending lawsuit. Lawson reminded the County of the death of Sophia Mason, the eight-year-old child whose homicide last year highlighted the mishandling of at-risk children by social service administrators.
Conditions at the Assessment Center spiraled following the inexplicable withdrawal on Feb. 15 of Alameda County Sheriff’s Office deputies who had provided security for the Center.
Since the deputies’ departure, calls to Hayward police and firefighter-paramedics related to the Center skyrocketed—including for AWOL children as young as 10 years of age, drug overdoses, assaults on staff, and sex trafficking of children by older youth in the Center—and have resulted in more than 750 police-officer-hours spent responding to, following up on and investigating Center-related calls and incidents.
[...]
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