THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 21, 1995 TAG: 9501210215
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MATTHEW BOWERS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
Janet D. Dungan didn't know how unusual it was for her to be back in court Friday, still following the case of Christopher N. Herrera weeks after she headed the jury that convicted the child's parents of starving him.
Dungan refuses to let go of the case until she finds out what will happen to 14-month-old Christopher, who still lives with his parents, Martin Jr., 21, and Karen E. Herrera, 20, while they await sentencing for felony neglect.
``I mean, I think it's kind of scary that you can be convicted of abusing a child and go home that night and put him to bed,'' Dungan said.
She was in Circuit Court for a hearing on an emergency request by Christopher's court-appointed guardian, lawyer Paul H. Ray, to remove the boy immediately from his parents' home for his own safety.
Judge John K. Moore postponed the hearing to March 2 to allow time to hear witnesses. That date, the earliest that Ray and lawyers for Social Services and the Herreras could agree on, is a week after the parents' scheduled sentencing Feb. 21.
The Herreras face up to 106 days in jail and $106 in fines - a day and a dollar for every day of the 3 1/2 months Christopher wasn't fed properly - although the judge can reduce the jury's recommended sentence. If the parents are sent to jail, Social Services will place Christopher and his two sisters in short-term foster care and return them when the parents are released, Ray told the judge.
The unusual penalty was Dungan's idea. The trial ended Jan. 5.
``The issue of guilt was never a question,'' said Dungan, a 38-year-old corporate-account manager with Bell Atlantic, and the mother of a 7 1/2-year-old daughter and twin 4 1/2-year-old boys. Most of the jurors were parents.
``As a jury, we all wanted to send a message that you don't starve your children,'' Dungan said.
``Hopefully, they would have 106 days to think about what they did to their child. That was the No. 1 message. The No. 2 message was you should get help when you need it.''
When she was allowed after the trial to read newspaper accounts of the case, she was shocked to learn about a prior incident of abuse involving Martin Herrera and Christopher's older sister. It was information she wished the jury had received.
``It made me feel sick,'' Dungan said. ``It definitely showed a trend.''
Her concern moved her to take a rare step for a juror: to continue monitoring the case after her official duty ended.
It also moved her to write a letter to Judge Moore in support of Ray's attempts to get Christopher out of the house. She particularly recalled trial Judge Kenneth N. Whitehurst Jr.'s admonitions to jurors to use their ``common sense.''
``Common sense dictates that one does not leave a defenseless 13-month-old infant with the same people convicted of neglecting him,'' Dungan wrote in part.
``I feel that, as an individual and a member of our community, a responsibility for making sure that Christopher receives the care, love and nurturing that is his birthright.''
Christopher was 5 months old and weighed less than 9 1/2 pounds when horrified bystanders in a store noticed his wasted condition last May. He was hospitalized, then placed in foster care, where he quickly gained weight.
He was returned to his parents in October on the recommendation of Social Services, after the Herreras completed a 16-hour parenting class and began receiving in-home help. Ray and prosecutors protested Christopher's return, and the foster parents quit the city program in disgust. Social Services retained legal custody of Christopher and is charged with monitoring his well-being.
Assistant City Attorney Nianza E. Wallace withdrew Friday from representing Social Services in the case. He told Judge Moore that the agency feared a conflict because another assistant city attorney, Elizabeth E. Fox, originally reported Christopher's condition, and Fox strongly opposes the boy's placement with the parents. The judge approved Social Services' requested substitute, prominent Virginia Beach criminal-defense lawyer Richard G. Brydges.
Dungan said she hoped that legal maneuvering won't obscure Christopher's right to safety. She said jurors heard nothing from defense witnesses to indicate that the Herreras had become better caregivers after their arrests. The jury feared for Christopher's future, she said.
``Maybe not with so many eyes watching at this moment,'' she said. ``But what happens when the eyes go away?'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Janet Dungan is concerned about what happens to Christopher Herrera,
whose parents are awaiting sentencing for felony neglect.
KEYWORDS: CHILD ABUSE by CNB