Murdered 4-Year-Old Girl Had STD; Child Services Did Nothing

By: Carlin DeGuerin Miller
Topics: Daily Blotter

(Courtesy of Amanda Young Matthews)

Emma Thompson, 4, died as a result of blunt abdominal trauma.

NEW YORK (CBS) It sickens the conscience. Yet another child is dead at the hands of her caregivers. But this time many are pointing fingers at Texas Child Protective Services, who did nothing despite knowing the murdered girl was given genital herpes and living with a man investigated three other times for cases involving children, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Abigail Elizabeth Young, 33 and her boyfriend Lucas Ruric Coe, 27, were arrested Monday and charged with felony injury to a child in connection with the June 27 death of Abigail's 4-year-old daughter, Emma Thompson. But more evidence is coming to light that while they may be directly responsible for Emma's death, they are not solely responsible.

Investigators have uncovered records that Texas Child Protective Services had begun an investigation into Emma's care when she tested positive for genital herpes, but she was not removed from the home, according to the Houston Chronicle. The paper also notes that investigators discovered that Coe had been investigated three other times in the past for unrelated cases involving another girlfriend's children.

This is one more death of a defenseless child at the hands of the very people who were supposed to protect her that has authorities and family members asking how and why this was allowed to happen. And this time it's shining an unflattering light on the watchdogs.

(AP Photo)

In these photos taken by James Nielsen of the Houston Chronicle, Abigail Elizabeth Young, 33, and Lucas Ruric Coe, 27, leave a Houston courtroom.

Questions will be raised. Why Coe was allowed near children with the kind of history he had with Child Protective Services? And why wasn't Emma removed immediately from the home when evidence surfaced that she was being sexually abused – for what other possible reason could a 4-year-old have genital herpes?

Some will say that Child Protective Services can't remove every child, or that the system is overwhelmed and undermanned to handle the volume of cases. Questions will be asked about home much state funding, or lack thereof, contributed to the understaffing of a very important agency.

But one has to wonder if all this finger pointing, while justified and arguably necessary to affect change, is just a way for us to avoid asking the hardest and possibly the only question that will never be answered: how does a parent do this to their own flesh and blood?

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by doopadoopdoop October 5, 2009 12:40 AM EDT: I hate people.; Reply to this comment


by Lawdoll August 14, 2009 3:38 PM EDT: Children are dying across this country because of the negligence of CPS, and the deaths will continue until these workers are held accountable for these deaths. I do mean Criminally accountable...throw their butts in jail for these deaths. These Social Workers lie, commit perjury, forge documents, falisify records, break the law, the list goes on and on...yet they continually get away with this illegal behavior, even when the children die as a direct result of their behavior. Something has to be done to change this corrupt system...
Children are dying, how much more proof do you need that the system really does not protect children, just the workers who's sole goal is to cover their ass and earn that money. http://stopcorruptdss.wordpress.com visit my site, see the corruption across this country avaliable in one spot. It is overwelming when you see it all at once.; Reply to this comment


by brianbwb-2009 August 12, 2009 9:22 PM EDT: Inbreeding attempts with a 4 year old. It seems anything too low for certain types.

Bet they were teabaggers.; Reply to this comment


by ali4647 August 12, 2009 2:35 PM EDT: shocker!? Nope. ALL TO COMMON! Our gov't agencies are disgustingly inadequate and underfunded and the workers in general work to get a pay check, months of days off and a pension. Govenment workers in general are lazy, have a lasse fair attitude or a very poor one and work as minimally as possible with the least amount of work. Supervisors do not watch their cases at all. This area - child services and social work - is one of the many services that lacks follow through. Is it any wonder this is more the norm - kids neglected and sexually, physically, mentally and emotionally abused? Does ANYONE look into these allegations BEFORE it's too late? It's like filing a restrainging order - um hello! like the perp cares about some paper when more likely or not they already have a criminal record and/or anger issues.....pathetically sad, but every local gov't is severely inadequate on many many levels and unfortunately, you have the supervisors, heads of board and our President for the failure of protecting our children and our women; Reply to this comment


by AKCougar August 12, 2009 12:28 PM EDT: How many times have we read the same lame excuses of (numerous) child protective services, when the child abuse has been reported to CPS, yet the abused child is murdered by the parents or caregivers, in the home? CPS excuses usually are that CPS is "understaffed, overworked and underpaid"; therefore, CPS needs "more employees, less work and more pay". Isn't this rewarding people for not doing their job(s) in the first place? Sickening! And why wasn't the 4 year old taken out of the home and placed in protective custody, when it was discovered that she had genital herpes?

*If you see, hear or even suspect child abuse, CALL THE POLICE immediately! You can make an anonymous call, and the police respond immediately! You may save a child's life.

I had a neighbor whom on many occassions, I had seen beating his pre-school children. I called child protective services. A week later, the neighbor was still beating his children. I frantically called CPS. CPS said that they had an "appointment with the family next Tuesday". I told them that "the children might be dead by next Tuesday"! Then I called the police, who responded immediately. The other neighbors and I got together and everytime we saw or heard child abuse, we called the police, who always responded immediately.; Reply to this comment


by traffic101 August 12, 2009 10:18 AM EDT: This is pure negligence! Child protection agency should have removed the child when it was diagnosed with an STD. Also, they should have realized child was living with a sex offender before this even happened. How come the mother did nothing to protect her child? She should get the max for negligence.; Reply to this comment