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.
