Nearly two years after the lifeless body of little Neveah Gallegos was found stuffed in a trash bag, it seems justice may be in the offing.
Recent indictments of the 3-year-old’s mother and the mother’s boyfriend are a reminder that even though cases such as these may slip from public view, police and prosecutors are working to solve them.
It’s also occasion to contemplate the state of Colorado’s child welfare system. Neveah was among 13 children who died in 2007 even though a county-based child protection system was supposed to be looking out for them.
A state review of the child welfare system, released last year, found inconsistencies, sporadic communication among workers, and long wait times for basic training for protective workers.
The review also noted that reports of suspected abuse increased 43 percent between 2000 and 2007. At the same time, program funding was being cut.
The state’s revenue situation is difficult, to say the least. But as a society, it’s imperative that we value and protect children, especially those living in potentially dangerous situations.
As the case involving Neveah became public, it was grotesquely evident that warning signs involving her home life went unheeded.
Authorities knew the mother’s live-in boyfriend was a sex offender, yet left Neveah in the household. This despite the girl having been treated at an emergency room for internal bleeding consistent with having been assaulted.
A medical examiner determined the girl was kicked or punched in the stomach, suffering internal bleeding. Ultimately, she was asphyxiated.
The tortured life of Neveah is horrifying to contemplate. But perhaps the cases against her mother and the boyfriend will focus public attention on the need to protect our society’s vulnerable children.
