In one of the heinous cases of child abuse, a Tracy, California couple has been accused of kidnapping and torturing a teen-aged boy. Frightened, dirty, disoriented and clad only in boxer shorts, the 16-year-old stumbled into a local gym begging for help, the chain used to imprison him still locked to his ankle. The boy's former guardian, a woman the boy called his "aunt," was also charged.
Caren Ramirez and the boy came to live at the northern California home of Michael Schumacher and Kelly Lau and their four young children about a year ago, Lau told authorities. In a television interview before her arrest, Lau said they struck the boy in the knees with a baseball bat to discipline him at the insistence of Ramirez. She also said Ramirez burned the boy with a hot aluminum bat and refused to let her feed him. He was often forced to watch the Schumacher family, including the young children, eat while he went hungry.
Authorities have charged the three adults with repeatedly abusing the boy with baseball bats, knives and belts. Lau and Schumacher, both in their 30s, were charged with 13 counts of torture, aggravated mayhem, false imprisonment by violence, kidnapping, child abuse and corporal injury. They remain in jail with bail set at $2.2 million apiece. Ramirez, who faces similar charges, is being held at the country jail for psychiatric evaluation. The four Schumacher children, who authorities say show no signs of abuse, have been placed with California's Child Protective Services.
Court records show that Ramirez, who is identified as a family friend, had served as the teen's legal guardian since he was removed from the home of an abusive father three years ago. Last year, Ramirez pleaded no contest to a felony charge of beating the boy and was sentenced to five years of probation.
To Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers and concerned people across the country, the facts in this child abuse case, which are still unfolding, are troubling. According to reports, the boy is highly traumatized and sometimes incoherent. The claims and counter claims being made by the adults are confusing will need to be unraveled to reveal the truth. The current status of the boy's guardianship given Ramirez's prior charge and probation will need to be uncovered. When people are charged with child abuse or domestic violence, criminal defense attorneys must first uncover the facts before they can advise their clients of their legal options.
