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Child, Elder Neglect Cases Reported

The family of a 5-year-old girl who died after being taken into foster care has filed a federal lawsuit against Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The family says the failure to provide the child with a mandatory medical screening led to her death from untreated tonsillitis. According to the Times, the child went without a medical screening for three days, which is a violation of state requirements.

Meanwhile in an unrelated case, a couple in Lake Wales was arrested after their 1-year-old son almost died from lack of medical treatment, according to the Ledger of Lakeland. The parents, Sabrina Rodriguez and Anthony Ristau, left the sick boy with a friend who later called for help when she found him limp and unresponsive. Rodriguez and Ristau are both in custody on second-degree felony charges of negligent child abuse with great bodily harm, according to the Ledger.

Finally, in another unrelated case, a man in Daytona Beach Shores was arrested Monday after his 84-year-old mother was found in a hotel room with fly-infested open wounds, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Jeffrey Andrews told police that his mother has Alzheimer’s disease and that he was her sole caregiver. According to the News-Journal, Andrews has been charged with neglect of an elderly adult causing great bodily harm, a second-degree felony.

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.