[...]Michelle Moquin's "A day in the life of…" » Blog Archive » Attention Foreclosure-threatened Homeowners[...]…

[...]Michelle Moquin's "A day in the life of…" » Blog Archive » Attention Foreclosure-threatened Homeowners[...]…

[...]Michelle Moquin's "A day in the life of…" » Blog Archive » Attention Foreclosure-threatened Homeowners[...]…

Guam – The parents of a 14-month-old toddler appeared before a Superior Court judge today, accused of neglecting their child so much so that it resulted in her death.

34-year-old Ray Anthony Ayuyu Hocog and 33-year-old Mary Pereira Rojas appeared before Magistrate Judge Alberto Tolentino this afternoon after spending the last day and a half behind bars.

His Honor asked Hocog if she had a copy of the complaint and if she had read it, which she confirmed she did.

“The people of Guam are charging you as a 1st degree felony, and child abuse as a 3rd degree felony in this complaint,” he explained to her.

Hocog and Rojas were arrested by the Guam Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division late Wednesday afternoon in connection with their daughter’s death.

The Mangilao couple faces charges of manslaughter as a 1st degree felony and child abuse as a 3rd degree felony for the alleged neglect of their 14-month-old daughter.

Last Saturday medics responded to the couple’s home where they found the toddler not breathing. They transported her to Naval Hospital where she was pronounced dead several hours later.

But her death sparked concerns from Naval Hospital physicians who contacted Child Protective Services who in turn called police.

Medical Examiner Dr. Aurelio Espinola confirms the toddler died from pneumonia and malnutrition saying she was “skin and bones”.

Prosecutor Stephen Leon Guerrero asked the court to impose $100,000 bail for each of the defendants, saying, “We’re alleging that this defendant along with the co-defendant allowed their 14-month-old daughter to starve to death and we’re also extremely concerned because this defendant and the co-defendant have six other minors.

So we do feel the $100,000 cash bail is appropriate and warranted due to the significant and serious nature of the charges and the resulting death of this minor child.”

According to the magistrate’s complaint, the toddler was born on May 30 of last year weighing 6 lbs. When she died, she weighed 5 lbs., 8 oz. and the prosecutor’s declaration indicated that she has not received medical attention since her birth.

The toddler’s rib cage was clearly evident and her arms and legs reportedly had an approximate circumference of a nickel and quarter. Court documents state the child contracted pneumonia as a result of her malnutrition.

The couple, when interviewed by police said they live together and took turns taking care of the toddler and her siblings based on their work schedules.

According to Leon Guerrero, the two are both employed at LSG, Lufthansa Service Guam, Inc. “As indicated by the prosecution, you face a potential 15 years incarceration for this crime if you are convicted – the court believes $100,000 cash bail is reasonable and appropriate at this time,” announced the judge.

Leon Guerrero could not provide the condition of the couple’s other six children because they are minors; CPS has stepped in and placed the children with relatives.

Hocog and Rojas are scheduled to appear back in court for a preliminary hearing on Monday, August 1.
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Some cruelties can make you question the existence of God.

Hafa Adai

Anna

By the CNN Wire Staff July 22, 2011 6:50 a.m. EDT

(CNN) — A small boat matching the description of a skiff reported missing with 15 people aboard 600 miles southeast of Guam has been spotted on an uninhabited atoll, the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday.

The small boat, which was carrying six children and nine adults, was last seen near Chuuk, a group of islands in the Federated States of Micronesia, on Monday, the Coast Guard said.

The crew of a vessel leaving Ruo Island, the intended destination of the missing skiff, reported seeing an overturned boat on the beach of the Fanano atoll, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

Several people were also on shore, it said.
A long-range Navy search plane flew over the area after the Coast Guard received the report.

“Once on scene, the aircraft reported back that a damaged vessel was overturned on the beach and several crude shelters had been erected on the beach,” the statement said.

“Three other boats could be seen on the island and people on the shore began waving at the plane as it soared overhead.”

Communication in the area is extremely limited. The Coast Guard has redirected one of its ships to Fanano to confirm whether the people spotted on the beach are in fact the missing passengers, said Capt. Thomas Sparks, commander of the Coast Guard’s Sector Guam.

The small boat was headed for tiny Ruo Island, also part of the federation, about 70 miles northeast of Chuuk, said the Coast Guard.

Most of the missing people work in Chuuk state and were traveling home to Ruo, according to Petty Officer 3rd Class Anthony Soto of the Coast Guard in Hawaii.

The Chuuk State Department of Transportation reported the boat missing to the Coast Guard Tuesday morning when it was overdue at Ruo Island.

The national government of the Micronesian federation, the Chuuk state government and the Guam sector of the Coast Guard coordinated a joint search to find the boat.

The Federated States of Micronesia is a democratic island group in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Indonesia.

Independent since 1986, the vast archipelago of hundreds of tiny islands comprises a land mass of just 702 square miles, about the size of Singapore. It includes the Chuuk Islands, Yap Islands, Kosrae and Pohnpei.