"Pre-Teen Jane" INES - 12 yo - Brownsville TX

In an interview with investigators, a Brownsville mother said she
would keep her 12-year-old daughter in a closet to keep her from
stealing food from the refrigerator.
For about a year, she and her husband locked the girl inside the
space after she came home from school, police officers say, letting her
out only to use the restroom and, sometimes, to eat.
When authorities found the girl, she was so malnourished she looked
like she was about 8 years old, investigators said. She was old enough
to be in seventh grade but instead was in fifth.
Brownsville Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jimmy Manrrique said it
was difficult to discover the child had suffered abuse as she would go
to class every day and held steady grades in school.
The girl’s parents, Leticia, 40, and Alfredo Ines, 43, were charged
Saturday with second-degree injury to a child and unlawful restraint.
On Tuesday, they remained in custody on $275,000 bonds each.
The couple has three other boys, ages 17, 13 and 11. Alfredo is only
the biological father of the youngest son, investigators said. He was
working at the Brownsville Independent School District as a maintenance
worker.
The Brownsville Independent School District has declined comment on the case as it is still under investigation.
But Lucy Green, the district’s professional development
administrator, said educating school personnel on child abuse
prevention is a top priority for the district. Counselors undergo
special training by the Texas Counselors Association and have monthly
development meetings, she said.
They also give PowerPoint presentations in classrooms and hold group
and one-on-one sessions with students to empower them to report abuse,
Green said.
"We need to build relationships with our children," she said. "Counselors are really to build trust with our students.
Meanwhile, teachers have training sessions provided by Child
Protective Services and other agencies, Green said. They also attend
2-day staff development sessions held usually once a year, she said.
Raising awareness in the community would also help prevent cases of child abuse from going unreported, she said.
"It happens," Green said, when asked whether children could still
suffer silent abuse. "We try very hard to keep our children safe, but I
really think we need every one working together."
Anyone who sees the abuse or has a student who asks for help is required by law to report it to Child Protective Services.
Schools reported the highest number of child abuse cases to CPS in
the latest available statistics, said John Lennan, CPS spokesman for
South Texas. During fiscal year 2008, school officials reported 47, 868
cases, or about 19 percent, of the total 250,190 abuse cases throughout
the state. Medical personnel reported the second highest number of cases — 41,321 reports, or about 16.5 percent.
To report an abuse call 1-800-252-5400 or go to http://www.txabusehotline.org
"We want people to know these cases are easy to report," Lennan said.

The girl whose parents locked her in a closet every day after school
will remain in foster care, a visiting judge ruled Thursday in a closed
hearing.
Associate Judge James Belton also ordered that two of her three brothers remain in the care of family relatives.
John Lennan, spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and
Protective Services, reserved comment on the care of the oldest son, as
he is about to turn 18 years old and is not a party to the case. Texas
family law states Child Protective Services only has jurisdiction over
children up to 17 years of age.
Brownsville police officers arrested Alfredo and Leticia Ines in
late January on charges of second-degree injury to a child and unlawful
restraint. They are accused of locking the 12-year-old in the closet
after she came home from school for about a year, letting her out only
to use the restroom and, sometimes, to eat.
At Thursday’s hearing, the state
presented reasons the children came into emergency state care, Lennan
said. Alfredo and Leticia Ines were represented by attorneys appointed
by the judge and did not contest the rulings.
The girl’s three brothers are 17, 13 and 11. Leticia Ines, 40, is
said to be the mother of all four children. Alfredo Ines, 43, is only
the biological father of the youngest son, investigators said.
All four children are believed to have different fathers, Lennan
said after Thursday’s hearing. All the siblings will be allowed to
visit each other based on therapists’ opinions, he said.
The children have a court-appointed guardian and attorneys "to serve
as their voice to the judge," Lennan said. The girl will remain in
foster care for the duration of case proceedings against her mother and
stepfather.
Child protective services began investigating at the humble, pink
duplex in West Brownsville where the family lived when one of the
girl’s three brothers reported the allegations of abuse to officials at
his school, police said.
When authorities found the girl, she was so malnourished she looked
like she was about 8 years old, investigators said. She was old enough
to be in seventh grade but instead was in fifth.
Neighbors have described the family as reserved and said the Ines
children would not play outside. They also recalled Leticia Ines as a
strict mother.
Olga Orozco, a distant relative and godmother of Leticia Ines, said
she did not know the young girl was being kept in the closet. She
learned of the case against Leticia Ines through news reports.
"I do not know how to describe how I felt. I was shocked," said
Orozco, who waited outside of the hearing room Thursday for more
information on the girl’s whereabouts.
Orozco said she last saw the family last month at the hospital when
Leticia Ines’ father died. She described Leticia Ines as private woman
who rarely invited family to her home and her daughter as a quiet and
obedient girl.
"I just want to see the girl," Orozco said.
Alfredo and Leticia Ines remain in custody under $275,000 bonds
each. They have court-appointed attorneys to represent them on the
criminal charges.
Public records show the couple married in 1998 and that Alfredo Ines has a 1-year-old son with another woman.
The 12-year-old girl is undergoing therapy and is in better
condition, Lennan said. At the hearing, the girl was said to be happy
at her foster home and to have been making Valentine’s Day cards for
the first time earlier this week.

The mother of a 12-year-old Brownsville girl allegedly locked in a closet except to attend school or use the bathroom faces trial on child abuse charges. The trial of 40-year-old Leticia Ines was scheduled to begin Monday in Brownsville. Ines, who was arrested in January, has pleaded not guilty to injury to a child and unlawful restraint. Investigators say the girl was malnourished and would do her homework by light coming from beneath the closet door during a year of alleged abuse. Child Protective Services took custody of the girl after one of her three brothers alerted school authorities. The boys have been placed with relatives. The woman's husband and girl's stepfather, Alfredo Ines, faces trial later on similar counts.

Texas Woman Accused Of Keeping Daughter Locked In Closet Jailed

BROWNSVILLE (January 21, 2011)—Leticia Ines, 41, of Brownsville woman, who’s accused of keeping her 12-year-old daughter locked in a closet, except to go school or use the bathroom, was in the Cameron County Jail Friday, charged with injury to a child and unlawful restraint.

She was arrested and her bond was revoked after authorities say she failed to show up for a court hearing.

read more>

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/Texas_Woman_Accused_Of_Keeping_Daughter_Locked_In_Closet_114360764.html?storySection=story

mermaid55 wrote:Texas Woman Accused Of Keeping Daughter Locked In Closet Jailed

BROWNSVILLE (January 21, 2011)—Leticia Ines, 41, of Brownsville woman, who’s accused of keeping her 12-year-old daughter locked in a closet, except to go school or use the bathroom, was in the Cameron County Jail Friday, charged with injury to a child and unlawful restraint.

She was arrested and her bond was revoked after authorities say she failed to show up for a court hearing.

read more>

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/Texas_Woman_Accused_Of_Keeping_Daughter_Locked_In_Closet_114360764.html?storySection=story

She shouldn't have been out on bail in the first place IMO. She's probably got up the duff yet again by now to a 5th bloke. What a skank. The boy who had the courage to notify authorities is a huge hero. I expect he might feel conflicted knowing he's responsible for his mother being in jail, but he saved his half sisters life and should be proud of the guts he showed.