Alleged Abuse Victim, 9, Awarded $5.5 Million

Superior Court jurors in Norwalk awarded $5.5 million Friday to a profoundly disabled 9-year-old boy, who his lawyers charge was abused by his step-grandmother and neglected by Los Angeles County’s Department of Children’s Services.

The boy, Jesus Castro, has been in a semi-vegetative state in a hospital since June, 1986, when he nearly drowned in a swimming pool in the back yard of the Norwalk home of his grandparents, Frances and Carlos Rodriguez. He was left a paraplegic with the mental capacity of a 6-week-old infant.

Mary O’Keefe, attorney for the plaintiffs, said that when paramedics were called they found that the boy bore signs of chronic abuse. A guardian was appointed for Jesus and she filed suit, charging that the Department of Children’s Services had failed to adequately monitor his placement. O’Keefe said the money that goes to the boy will be used to provide medical care.