BENTON COUNTY, AR (FOX News Edge) – 6-year-old Isaiah Torres died from chronic abuse in Bella Vista last month. His parents Mauricio and Cathy Torres have been charged with his murder. Many people are asking how his abuse went unnoticed.
Investigators say Isaiah was homeschooled. Rita Farrell with the Children’s Advocacy Center of Benton County says homeschooling increases the risk of child abuse going unnoticed.
“There is a lack of oversight when you compare it to our school systems that have that oversight… teachers, schools, nurses – you obviously don’t have that,” said Farrell.
Farrell says extra curricular activities can be key to discovering abuse. Isaiah Torres and his two sisters were volunteers at the Samaritan Community Center, but the Executive Director there says nothing caught their attention during the three years the family attended the community center.
“Light-hearted and just joyful kids. This caught us totally off, totally off guard,” said Debbie Rambo, executive director of the Samaritan Community Center.
Court documents also state Isaiah was treated for chemical burns on his back at Arkansas Children’s Hospital last year. We reached out to the hospital who couldn’t comment on the case but did have this to say.
“The medical providers role is to recognize situations that might be suspicious and report it for investigation,” said Dr. Karen Farst.
Dr. Farst went on to say abuse isn’t always obvious, even to trained professionals.
“Sometimes they just have some bruises that it’s hard to know if those were bruises because they fell on the playground, or if somebody’s losing their temper and striking them,” said Dr. Farst.
“If we’re not provided an accurate history, we certainly can misinterpret something that maybe should have been more concerning than it was,” said Dr. Farst.
Dr. Farst also said it’s common for kids to deny abuse or only share a small part of it when questioned out of fear that abuse would get worse.
Investigators say Isaiah was homeschooled. Rita Farrell with the Children’s Advocacy Center of Benton County says homeschooling increases the risk of child abuse going unnoticed.
“There is a lack of oversight when you compare it to our school systems that have that oversight… teachers, schools, nurses – you obviously don’t have that,” said Farrell.
Farrell says extra curricular activities can be key to discovering abuse. Isaiah Torres and his two sisters were volunteers at the Samaritan Community Center, but the Executive Director there says nothing caught their attention during the three years the family attended the community center.
“Light-hearted and just joyful kids. This caught us totally off, totally off guard,” said Debbie Rambo, executive director of the Samaritan Community Center.
Court documents also state Isaiah was treated for chemical burns on his back at Arkansas Children’s Hospital last year. We reached out to the hospital who couldn’t comment on the case but did have this to say.
“The medical providers role is to recognize situations that might be suspicious and report it for investigation,” said Dr. Karen Farst.
Dr. Farst went on to say abuse isn’t always obvious, even to trained professionals.
“Sometimes they just have some bruises that it’s hard to know if those were bruises because they fell on the playground, or if somebody’s losing their temper and striking them,” said Dr. Farst.
“If we’re not provided an accurate history, we certainly can misinterpret something that maybe should have been more concerning than it was,” said Dr. Farst.
Dr. Farst also said it’s common for kids to deny abuse or only share a small part of it when questioned out of fear that abuse would get worse.
