Lightening strikes twice. Blog by Angela

After Michael had left this world to live in a better place, I never thought I'd have to see another one of my family members go through the horror of knowing your innocent child, a child you placed in a setting you thought you trusted, to be harmed. To feel this kind of violation is beyond imaginable, the torture my Aunt put herself through, for something that was completely out of her control is not a fun thing to witness, for anyone. To know that justice was never served for Michael, a person would think that lightening could not strike twice in the same family.

This past April, I was informed that my cousin, this time on the maternal side of the family (Michael is on the paternal side). My cousin, my little cousin, my perfect angel cousin, was assalted in the care facility he risides in. Aaron is not a typical child, he has Angelman Syndrome, a syndrome that has left this 15 year old boy with a mentality of a 2 year old, and nonverbal. In so many ways Aaron is an infant in a grown boys body. Aaron was beaten by a man at the facility, this facility is a place where I was employed nearly 10 years ago, this place I even thought to trust, I knew so many of the people and I knew the hearts these people had for the children of the home.

I was fooled, as was everyone else in my family. On my Aunt Julie's weekend to get Aaron, she was pulled aside by an employee to hear the most gut wrenching news ever, Aaron had bruises from an incident, and they assured her the proper measures were taken and the male caregiver was fired. This man, a man with complete knowledge of his own strength and power over any child, non the less a child with special needs. He used his own physical strength to leave Aaron's face black and blue, and even his feet.

This man fled and later "turned himself in" he voluntarily came to the Police Station and openly admitted to striking Aaron several times. In October of this year, this man was not charged, why you may ask. His Miranda Rights were never read to him. He was let off due to some stupid technicality. This man will not have it on his record that he harmed a child, so he could go to another state, free to harm another innocent, powerless child again.

The lightening struck twice, the lightening bolt of failure in the justice system. Surely something must be able to be done to protect the youth of our country...

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