HOMESTEAD, Florida — A 5-year-old boy showed up at an emergency room with both eyes swollen shut, marks across his body, and injuries that told a story no child should ever live through.
What police uncovered next was deeply disturbing.
Maurice Timothy Dukes, 36, and his live-in girlfriend Sarahi Azucena Gonzalez, 22, were arrested after investigators determined the two had repeatedly abused the child in their care.
What police found at the hospital
An officer was called to a hospital in Homestead after staff flagged suspected child abuse.
The boy’s injuries were described in charging documents as “linear looped markings, abrasions, and facial trauma” — spread across his face and body and appearing to be in various stages of healing.
That detail alone suggested the abuse had not happened once. It had been ongoing.
What the adults admitted
Both Dukes and Gonzalez were interviewed by police after being read their Miranda rights — and both admitted to striking the child with a belt.
Gonzalez also admitted to hitting the boy with a sandal.
She told investigators she did it because no one was helping her with childcare.
What she allegedly did next made the situation even more chilling.
A 12-year-old was brought into it
According to the charging documents, Gonzalez told the boy’s 12-year-old cousin to beat the 5-year-old with a belt.
When the older child was doing it, she allegedly said “whoop him harder.”
Dukes admitted he knew about the facial injuries caused by the 12-year-old — but said he never called police or took the boy to get medical help.
The 12-year-old is currently listed as at large.
Where the case stands now
Dukes and Gonzalez now face one count each of aggravated child abuse and child neglect resulting in great bodily harm.
They are being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on bonds of $6,000 and $4,000 respectively.
The child is receiving care. But the questions this case raises — about who was watching, and for how long — are not easy ones to sit with.
What should happen to adults who harm the children in their care? Share your thoughts in the comments.