In Indio, investigators are recommending that Anthony Pacheco, 22, face child abuse charges in connection with the death of his one-year-old step daughter. The little girl sustained severe head injuries while in his care. She was taken emergently to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs. Then she was transferred to Loma Linda University Medical Center where she died several days later.
Eighty percent of abusers never admit their abuse. According to the CDC, 1,490 children died from abuse and neglect in the Unites States for the year 2004. This number decreased in 2005 to 1,460 deaths. Greater than 75% of these deaths occurred in children under four years of age. A total of 872,000 children were reportedly abused in that same time frame. In 2005, child protective services investigated 3.6 million cases of reported child abuse complaints, which resulted in discovery of 899,000 cases of child abuse. Higher rates of abuse occur in the African-American population at 1,950 per 100,000 children. Girls are at a higher risk to be victims of maltreatment than boys. Mothers have demonstrated a more frequency tendency to abuse and are generally younger in age than male adult abusers. However male adult abusers inflict more severe abuse outcomes.
