2012-06-12 21:35

Disabled girl, 16, found starved down to 23 pounds by her mother

A 16-year-old girl with cerebral palsy weighed only 23 pounds (10.4kg) and could not walk or talk when she was removed from her family home after being starved by her mother, the Daily Mail published in Britain reported Monday.

Darlene Armstrong measured just 3’10’’ tall when she was rushed to hospital in Chicago in March.

The severely disabled girl could have been rescued four months earlier if the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) had followed set procedures, an investigation by the Chicago Tribune revealed, according to MailOnline.

Darlene’s mother, Rosetta Harris, 50, pleaded guilty to endangering the life of a child.

The mother, who had no prior criminal record, was sentenced to 18 months of probation and ordered to undergo parenting classes.

Doctors at the Comer Children’s hospital said the girl, now 17, had been starved for a considerable period of time.

When Darlene was brought to hospital, she weighed only 23 pounds – just over one and a half stone - the typical weight of a two or three-year-old child, the report said.

관련 한글기사

16세 소녀 몸무게 불과 10㎏… 왜?

친어머니에게 학대당해 몸무게가 2~3세 아이 정도밖에 되지 않는 16세 소녀가 구출됐다고 나우뉴스가 외신을 인용 보도했다.

11일 영국 데일리메일, 시카고트리뷴 등 현지 언론에 따르면 키는 110㎝, 몸무게는 10.4㎏에 불과한 달런 암스트롱(16)은 어렸을 때부터 뇌성마비를 앓아왔다.

지난 3월 익명의 제보전화를 받고 암스트롱의 집을 찾아간 일리노이주 아동가족서비스 부서(Illinois Department of Children and Family Services•이하 DCFS) 관계자들은 당시 음식 섭취를 제때 하지 못해 심각한 영양부족 상태에 빠져있는 달런을 발견하고 곧장 병원으로 후송했다고 보도는 전했다.

2세 아이 몸무게와 비슷할 정도로 비쩍 마른 달런은 제대로 걷지도, 말을 하지도 못하는 심각한 상황이어서 병원 관계자들도 놀라움을 감추지 못했다고.