SCHENECTADY Xctasy’s father files lawsuit for $22M County, hotel accused of negligence in child’s abuse BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter
A child abuse case last year that shocked political and social service officials and prompted more stringent protective measures now has the county and the hotel where the abuse took place facing a $22 million lawsuit. The county of Schenectady and Twins Motor Inn were negligent in its handling of the Xctasy Garcia case and should pay $22 million in damages, the lawsuit claims. The fathers of Xctasy and her half-brother, Hennessy Velasquez, filed their complaint in state Supreme Court in Schenectady County. They claim the county was negligent in handling a tip that Xctasy was being abused, and in placing the children there in the first place. They also claim Twins Motor Inn officials were negligent because they knew or should have known of the abuse and did not report it to the state Child Abuse Hotline. Schenectady attorney Mark Gaylord, who is representing the children’s fathers, said both the county and the hotel needed to step in to help the children. “I think we have just as strong a case of liability against the hotel,” Gaylord said. “The hotel had direct knowledge of the guy being there and of this guy being harmful to these children. “They had just as much responsibility to call the hotline as DSS [Department of Social Services] did, if not more. Their knowledge was more direct.” Fathers Avin Garcia and Luis Velasquez filed the suit on behalf of their children. The suit includes 20 different claims relating to both children. They are seeking $20 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages. The motor inn is identifi ed in the suit by its corporate operator Swaminarayan Inc. The owners could not be reached Thursday. COUNTY RESPONSE Schenectady County Attorney Christopher Gardner said he sees no viable claim against the county. “At that juncture, there was no legal duty to do anything,” Gardner said. He noted the county Legislature acted decisively in making all county employees mandated child abuse reporters. That change in rules followed discovery of the lost opportunity to protect the children earlier. But, Gardner said, even had that law been in effect at the time of the Xctasy case, he believed the county still wouldn’t be legally liable. Xctasy Garcia suffered severe injuries at the hands of her mother Delia Hernandez and Hernandez’s boyfriend, Jose Munoz. Munoz administered the bulk of the abuse in Hernandez’s presence, and Hernandez did nothing to pre- vent it, officials have said. Munoz told the court at his plea he injured Xctasy’s eyes and face with a caustic substance and he broke her right arm sometime between June 9 and 11, 2006, in Room 16 at the Twins Motor Inn, 921 State St., where they had been staying. He also admitted he used a cigarette to burn Hennessy’s arm. The county was using Twins Motor Inn for temporary housing because Hernandez was homeless and receiving social services benefits. The suit claims the county also failed to investigate Hernandez’s public assistance application and that the hotel was dangerous and unfit for children. A Twins Motel manager alerted authorities to the abuse with a call to social services. A county staffer, following procedures, referred the caller to the state hot line. The manager never called, and Xctasy received treatment only after members of a church near the motel urged her mother to take the child to a hospital. Xctasy, who took the brunt of the abuse, has made a remarkable recovery, officials have said. She and her two half-brothers have since been placed in the homes of different relatives in Massachusetts. Her mother and her mother’s boyfriend are now serving state prison sentences. Xctasy, who was 4 at the time of the incident, has since turned 5 and was expected to start kindergarten this fall. Gaylord said he had not spoken with her father, Avin, since school began. But, he said, both Xctasy and Hennessy, who was 8 at the time, have continued their recoveries. They remain in counseling.
Schenectady attorney Mark Gaylord, who is representing the children’s fathers, said both the county and the hotel needed to step in to help the children.
I bet he feels horrible...... ...I wonder where planned parenthood was on this one.....did they give him the 'direction book' that comes with fathering children????
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Where was the father's involvement with his kids? He surely had to see some evidence of abuse IF he saw them.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Rumor has it that a Maxon Rd newspaper says "Delia Hernandez can now only communicate with her children, including Xctasy, by mail. She is asking to be allowed to speak to the children by phone and eventually have personal visits."
Logged
...I wonder where planned parenthood was on this one.....did they give him the 'direction book' that comes with fathering children????
