7-year-old dies from child abuse, police say; mother, boyfriend charged
09/21/2020 3:35 pm PDT
MODESTO, Calif. (TCD) --
Two people in California were arrested and charged with child abuse last week after a 7-year-old boy was hospitalized with serious injuries consistent with abuse. The child died in the hospital four days later, Modesto Police said, and charges have been upgraded.
A 7-year-old boy was hospitalized on Sept. 13 after officers responded to a call for medical aid at an apartment complex on the 1900 block of Oakdale Rd., where they found EMTs treating the child for serious injuries consistent with abuse, according to police.
Modesto residents Jovonna Cruz, 35, and her boyfriend Eyvar Rivera, 41, were arrested and charged with child abuse. The boy's mother, Cruz, was also charged with great bodily injury.
The child remained hospitalized in critical condition until he was pronounced dead on the night of Sept. 17.
Modesto Police said there was a prior incident reported in March that was investigated and forwarded to Child Protective Services, but further details were not released.
The Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office and the Modesto Police Department investigations are ongoing, police said.
READ criminal complaint: via KOVR-TV
Jovonna Cruz is now accused of child abuse causing death and was set to be arraigned Monday, KOVR-TV reports. The criminal complaint, which was updated Friday, also charges Cruz and Rivera with permitting a child to suffer under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death.
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