Oct. 15, 2014 – The Milwaukee Police Department found two-year old Isaac1 on March 4, 2014, inside the home of Dennis Buford and Teara Stewart.
Isaac was extremely emaciated, weighing in the less than 1 percent for similarly aged children on the world growth chart. Lash marks covered Isaac's body from head-to-toe, the result of repeated beatings with a cord. Isaac suffered massive abusive head trauma, including actual injury to his brain.
In the week prior to his hospitalization, Isaac experienced multiple seizures. Isaac's mother, Teara Stewart, and her boyfriend, Dennis Buford, did nothing.
A pediatric child abuse specialist from Children's Hospital of Wisconsin concluded that Isaac was the victim of severe child abuse and child neglect to a reasonable degree of medical certainty. Isaac's malnourished state would have taken weeks to months to develop.
At the time that Isaac was discovered, Stewart and Buford blamed one another for Isaac's injuries. If Isaac survived the devastating abuse and neglect he was subjected to, Isaac would need to be protected.
A coordinated investigation by medical experts, law enforcement, child protective services, and prosecutors was needed to hold Isaac's abusers accountable. Only then could Isaac truly be safe.
Pervasive Effects of Child Abuse
Child abuse and child neglect have pervasive effects on our community. The annual estimated cost of child abuse and child neglect to Wisconsin citizens was $483.4 million in 2003.2 Approximately 90 percent of imprisoned male felons were abused as children, and more than 50 percent of violent female offenders were physically or sexually abused as children.3
In addition to the increased risk for criminal activity, adverse childhood experience studies demonstrate that victims of child abuse and child neglect are at an increased risk for smoking, alcoholism, drug abuse, eating disorders, severe obesity, depression, suicide, sexual promiscuity, prostitution, and certain chronic health diseases.4
“Approximately 90 percent of imprisoned male felons were abused as children, and more than 50 percent of violent female offenders were physically or sexually abused as children.”
In Milwaukee County, children who suffer abuse or neglect at the hands of a parent or caretaker are often involved in two separate legal actions: a criminal action against the offender and a civil child protection action. While both legal actions have different goals, they share a common primary goal – the protection of the child victim.
Although both legal actions stem from the same allegations, each action involves different courts, different lawyers, and different government agencies. The systemic consequences of having so many different players involved historically led to breakdowns in communication, delayed proceedings, and misinformation shared between the parties of each action.
The ultimate costs of this structural setup fell on child victims, who experienced unnecessary delays in visitation, reunification, the implementation of services or, in the alternative, were not adequately protected.
The fact that the Milwaukee County Court System has two separate physical locations for each legal action further exacerbates these systemic concerns.
Creating a Collaborative System
With all of these factors in mind, District Attorney John Chisholm created the Child Protection and Advocacy Unit (CPAU) in September of 2008. District Attorney Chisholm recognized that any long-term solution to violent crime in Milwaukee County must address child abuse and child neglect in our community.
Children cannot thrive if they are not safe and their basic needs are not met. Successful early intervention is crucial for child victims and our community.
“Successful early intervention is crucial for child victims and our community.”
The CPAU is comprised of seven assistant district attorneys who oversee the joint prosecution of criminal child abuse and neglect cases and the corresponding civil CHIPS (Child In Need of Protection and Services) action.
The purpose of CPAU is to promote the safety and welfare of children while simultaneously holding offenders accountable through the joint prosecution of the criminal case and the CHIPS case.
The assistant district attorneys on CPAU operate as a bridge for information sharing between the two legal actions through collaboration between the courts, law enforcement, and the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare. The result is that the parties of each legal action are making informed decisions about child safety and appropriate services for the family.
The CPAU model of joint prosecution has produced tremendous results. First-time offenders with no prior record who cause minor injuries to a child receive deferred prosecution agreements requiring full cooperation with the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare, often through the intensive in-home services program.
The deferred prosecution agreements require the offender to plead as charged and fully admit to the charged conduct.
More serious child abuse and child neglect offenders are held accountable by prosecutors with specialized training and experience who work closely with experts from the Child Protection Center and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin to ensure that the most vulnerable victims of our community receive the highest level of protection possible. The result has been a 90 percent conviction rate on issued child abuse and child neglect cases.
“The result has been a 90 percent conviction rate on issued child abuse and child neglect cases.”
The CPAU team has also improved investigation of child abuse and child neglect in Milwaukee County by sponsoring training programs to increase education and awareness. In September 2013, the CPAU held a day-long training on the investigation of inflicted burn injuries on children.
Two nationally known experts on child maltreatment, Mr. Phylip Peltier and Dr. Lynn Sheets MD, presented to an audience of law enforcement and child protective service workers. The ultimate goal was to promote a coordinated investigation into child abuse by law enforcement, medical experts, and child protective services.
Through these measures, the District Attorney’s Office has placed an emphasis on the safety and security Milwaukee County’s children by promoting collaboration with law enforcement, child welfare agencies, and our community partners.
Justice for Isaac
For Isaac, the CPAU provided the first level of protection by filing a CHIPs action to immediately remove Isaac from the home of Teara Stewart and Dennis Buford.
Matthew J. Torbenson (Marquette 2004) is the team captain of the Child Protection and Advocacy Unit of the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.
Through a coordinated investigation by law enforcement, medical experts in child maltreatment, and prosecutors from CPAU, Stewart and Buford were both charged with multiple counts of felony child abuse and child neglect.
Stewart pled to five felony charges and is presently serving a 22-year prison sentence. Buford pled to four felony charges and is presently serving a 28-year prison sentence. Most importantly, Isaac is now safe.5
Collaboration among community partners is the key to informed decision making and successful early intervention for Milwaukee County’s child victims.
As Nelson Mandela so eloquently stated, “[t]here can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”6 The children of Milwaukee County deserve our very best.
Endnotes
1 I have changed the name of the victim to protect his identity.
2 Wisconsin Children’s Trust Fund, “Invest in Wisconsin’s children now,” March 2005, http://wctf.state.wi.us.
3 Prevent Child Abuse America, 2006 Annual Report.
4 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Child Maltreatment Fact Sheet, CDC website, September 19, 2007.
5 See State v. Teara Stewart, Milwaukee County case 2013CF1159, and State v. Dennis Buford, Milwaukee County case2013CF1158.
6 Speech by Nelson Mandela, May 8, 1995: Speech by President Nelson Mandela at the launch of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund
