AGENCY SLAMMED FOR FAILING TO INVESTIGATE CHILD ABUSE ALLEGATIONS
The man referred to by the S.C. Department of Social Services (SCDSS) as a “highly intelligent, responsible father capable of caring for his children” was in reality an ex-convict with a history of abuse.
Not only that, a recent abuse allegation prompted SCDSS to pay Timothy Ray Jones, Jr.’s mobile home in Red Bank, S.C. a visit less than a month before he allegedly abducted and murdered his five children.
We wrote about this case earlier this week … but it continues to baffle us.
The decomposing bodies of Jones’ five children – eight-year-old Merah, seven-year-old Elias, six-year-old Nathan, two-year-old Gabriel and one-year-old Abigail – were found off of a dirt road in Wilcox County, Alabama this week. Jones led investigators to the grisly scene and confessed to the crimes, although he has yet to indicate why he did it. Investigators believe all five children were killed at around the same time in Jones’ Red Bank residence, but that’s all they’ve been willing to say at this point.
SCDSS was summoned to Jones’ residence on August 7 but did not conduct a full investigation into allegations that he had abused one of his five children.
“There were clear signs of abuse,” a source familiar with the case tells FITS, but added that forensic exam was not conducted on the child. “There was also a domestic violence incident and it was never addressed how that impacted the children,” the source added.
What were these “clear signs?”
“There were markings on the children that (SCDSS) and law enforcement investigated but the kids never had a forensic interview,” the source said.
Why not?
“The dad had an excuse for the markings.”
During a previous visit to the home in May of 2014, separate allegations of abuse against one of Jones’ children were also dismissed after the father told the case worker his child was “clumsy” and “bruised easily.”
That case was closed on July 24 after the agency concluded the abuse allegations were “unfounded.”
In addition to these allegations – and the criminal domestic violence complaint – Jones was arrested in September 2001 in Illinois after embarking on a crime spree that included burglary, grand larceny and forging checks. He served eight months in an Illinois prison for those crimes.
It’s not clear whether SCDSS was aware of Jones’ criminal history – or whether that would have changed what advocates say is a “flawed system” of investigating such cases. We do know that prior to the multiple investigations of abuse this year, the agency visited Jones’ home on several occasions in 2011 in response to allegations that the children were living in filth – meaning they had some familiarity with the family.
At this point it’s worth stating a few (hopefully self-evident) things …
As harsh as this website has been on SCDSS (we’re the ones who broke its last major child welfare scandal), there’s no way the agency could have predicted what was going to happen to Jones’ children. Obviously if they had any inkling something tragic was about to transpire, they would have immediately taken these children into protective custody.
And this case – based on the information that’s been made public so far, at least – doesn’t appear to be as black-and-white a case of agency negligence as the story we broke last summer involving four-year-old Robert Guinyard, Jr. (which ultimately led to the resignation of Nikki Haley’s first SCDSS director, Lillian Koller).
Also it’s worth noting that this website is adamantly opposed to government intervening in family matters unless it has overwhelming evidence that criminal activity has occurred – or is imminent.
Having said all of that, we’re dealing with the following things: 1) A brutal crime involving multiple children, 2) An agency with an established history of incompetence and deception, 3) A governor overseeing the agency who sought to cover up the agency’s problems rather than hold its leaders accountable.
In other words, don’t expect anyone to cry for S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley when this tragedy is turned against her politically … a process that has already begun.
53 comments
Nikki Haley should be lying right next to this guy when the poison flows into his veins. These children’s blood, and the blood of countless others, is on her hands.
Bravo Sierra! She didn’t kill these kids and BTW he won’t get the death penalty, it’s not guilty by reason of insanity and he’s out of SCDMH in less than 10 years.
Once again tell the 5 kids how good a day it is in South Carolina. This is a shame that we allow this to happen. Nikki Haley should be impeached for her oversight of DSS and every employee in the department should be fired and new qualified people hired.
The Democrats that infect DSS are to blame.Hang tough Nikki. Landslide for you in November.You are running against pure evil and you will prevail.
Democrats only care about children when it may get them a vote.Just another example here.
Why dont you come and say it Nikkis sister….you mean black employees you racist piece of shit.
The white people in charge are right wing Christianist Republicans.
If anyone cast a vote for Haley in November they are giving their approval of this type of behavior to continue at DSS. I don’t know what you have to do to convince voters at this point that Haley should have never been elected to office.
She will win again.Social agencies like DSS are staffed by liberals.Liberals run every damn thing they touch into the ground.
Abortion is a badge of honor for liberals.Why would anyone think they are sincere in expressing outrage about these truly tragic events at DSS? This is all about politics and in my opinion why Tom Ervin had that press conference yesterday.
Shame on him.Shame on him for apparently using these children in such a way-just like he did the veteran’s widow to make a campaign ad?
God Bless the children and their families.
Idiot Haley hired the staff. What are you a damn moron?
I think that is obvious! Didn’t Haley and her staff also attempt to
have the Senate investigation on the previous child murders held up until after the election!
Haley had the backs of these poor, precious abused little lives.
All Haley cared about was Haley’s reelection!
Screw her!
Go to Hell To You.
She couldn’t manage a 3-person novelty shop in Bamberg, and sure can’t manage a state with 60,000 employees and a $25 billion budget. These deaths alone are reason enough to not reelect her.
So if not Haley, then Sheheen? What the fuck has he done? I mean besides run a horrible campaign x2.
Good job, Nimrata. Hope this makes you proud.
As long as you still have Koller’s crew running the show @ DSS nothing will change. Interim Director, Deputy Directors, Child Welfare Director, Regional Directors, Performance Coaches, and all the paid consultants hired by Koller and Blanco need to go immediately along with Gov. Haley. See you @ the polls in November.
Willie,
You do realize the irony in continuing to push the “less government” agenda–while laying complete blame on the government’s inability to manifest omniscient powers?
I’m not saying who is right or wrong. But I do believe the “proverbial dead horse” has been kicked quite a bit lately. This is terrible that these children died. No question. But manage our expectations and explain what standard you expect from the “government employees” on their less than competitive salary.
Someone wants less government, so maybe now they’re getting it…
Generally the less government mantra seems to mean less indians but more higher paid chiefs
Right! And DSS can’t take away children from a parent just because they are dirty, have “diapers hanging way down from not being changed” or for requiring unusual punishment such as jumping jacks or running. It’s a government agency run by gov’ment workers, as well meaning as they may be. Not saying this father was a fit parent, just saying that social workers are not fortune tellers- they cannot predict the future.
No they can’t tell the future, but they are trained professionals that failed to do their jobs. They did not do background check, they didn’t do meducal records checks, they did not do educational checks and they did not address the domestic violence in the home when it was present. The age of the children should be considered always. The children that were physically abused should have had forensic examinations. It is a lot they did not do!
Trained my ass, you can become a social worker online, some of these degenerates don’t even have children, they are qualified, how?
As much as I hate say it id take Mark Sanford back as Governor, at least he never caused the death of childern to make his poll numbers look good.
First you’d have to find him.
“As much as I hate say it id take Mark Sanford back as Governor, at least he never”– hid –” the deaths of childern to make his poll numbers look good.”
What makes you think you know that as a fact?
In addition to these allegations – and the criminal domestic violence complaint – Jones was arrested in September 2001 in Illinois after embarking on a crime spree that included burglary, grand larceny and forging checks. He served eight months in an Illinois prison for those crimes.
Pffft.
Lisa Ka will tell you that most of us have criminal records.
South Carolina we only do South Carolina background Sled Checks not National background check because Koller administration stated National checks were/is to expenses.
This is correct.
I’m certainly not taking up for this murderer, Tim Jones. However his criminal activity was 13 years ago and he paid the consequences. Also a criminal domestic violence COMPLAINT. Not a nice guy, but DSS can’t take kids away from pp b/c of prior criminal history or a domestic violence complaint.
Yes they can. Do you know how domestic violence effect children mentally and emotionally? Every bit of information matters.
There’s blame to go around in this case.
LE had been going out with DSS from the first case…and, no one ever did an NCIC check on the guy? That was common practice by the investigators I’ve worked with. The weirdness of the Illinois crime, his early release from the Navy, recurrent cases would have led some workers/supervisors to request a psychological evaluation.
How did a family court judge give custody to a perp in a domestic violence case? There’s no indication he ever got treatment. Did this mom with no drivers license and no money not have an attorney to help her get that into the record?
.
DSS employees are only able to request SC NCIC checks – unsure where your common casework practice was done but unfortunately Caseworkers here are not privied to that information.
All that matters in lexington county is how much money you have to bribe people, who you know, or who you blow. The focus should be on the children that can still be saved, reopen them all and get some people involved that have a damn clue.
You can’t rationally blame Haley for these murders, but you can sure as hell blame her for letting this mess of an agency get worse on her watch, while she defended her so called “rock stars” who never came to work, and when they did show up were clueless incompetents. Its time she woke up and realized that slogans and phoney “job creation” claims don’t cut it. State Government is a mess. Get some decent people in there, clean it up, and there will be plenty of appreciative voters. Do nothing, or worse, attack your critics, and you should be out come November.
An article on “The State’s” web site today said that he was “overwhelmed” with trying to care for his children. Well dickshit, that might happen when you breed five kids. Just keep pumping them out and don’t give a thought as to how or if you can take care of them all, especially if you lose your job or something, which can and does happen to a lot of people. I hate government intervention in our private lives but sometimes I wish there were a way to require a license to have a child.
Corruption,
Again we agree my friend!!!!
Read the DSS records available at the TV sites.
This case involved domestic violence of the mother, excessive religious paraphernalia in the home (crazy religiosity frequently is tied to schizophrenic delusion and paranoia), plans to home school (used by some parents to hide abuse; I bet if the mother had not left, he would have never put those kids in school). Keeping the mother barefoot and pregnant is a way to control her.
The ex wife is guilty too-no she didn’t kill her Kids.But she left her babies for another man. What kind of mother does that? She obviously not love her kids. Shame on her!
Like Mark Sanford, Richard Eckstrom, Danny Frazier, Bob Peeler etc?
You need to read the DSS case records. You are lacking lots of information.
The story really makes my heart sink every time I read about it. It is just so hard to fathom a parent killing their own children like this. Its not just men who might do it, there are dozens of cases where women have done the same exact thing as well.
I know over the decades, that there have always been cases like this for DSS. They are called, they go out and investigate, but sometimes they find things, other times they don’t. What are they to do without witnesses? But it does seem like some pretty serious things were overlooked. I guess we will all find out when the entire case file is examined and bits and pieces of info come out.
So this now makes it from 251 children in a 3 year period killed by an abusive parent, to 256 children in South Carolina in a 3 year period killed by an abusive parent..
This is just horrible. Simply horrible. What can we do? What works? Why are so many laws and policies not being followed? Why is everything a free for all with the mentality like, “oh — I don’t agree with that law – I am not going to follow it — my idea works better – or, I am not going to do that. Its a stupid law.” …. This does go on, believe it or not.
So what are we going to do? We are up to TWO HUNDRED AND 55 DEAD CHILDREN BY ABUSIVE PARENTS.
The Indians drowned defective babies and leave the crippled and sick behind to die when they moved their camp from place to place.
This *is* still that America, isn’t it?
Liberals and Liberal-Tarians think legalizing pot and criminalizing God will solve all our problems?
Until we address the onslaught of liberal lifestyles, being forced into law in this country, we can forget it getting better.
Your argument is spurious, without merit, and lacking any understanding of the nuances of the situation. The war on drugs hasn’t worked well and these five deaths prove it. Prohibition didn’t work in 20s and 30s and it isn’t working now. Legalization can’t be any worse than the status quo.
Evidently, the war on murder has not worked…does you stupid, doped-up @$$ suggest we legalize that???..You people are so F*#king Stupid, and keep repeating the same old clichés, as if you are new and brilliant. You’re nothing but old and ignorant, with bad answers…
Wanting to add more vice to society is the WRONG thing to do….You’re on the way out because we’ve been doing your way…and you are a MAJOR failure…(see US Senate 2014)….So STFU and go away…
One man’s vice is another man’s pleasure. Pork is a “Vice” in a Jewish household. Stop trying to impose morality at the point of a gun it doesn’t work and we have the costly prison population in America to prove it.
I don’t know what the US Senate in 2014 has to do with anything, both major parties are equally at fault and failures.
Pork is a vice…So you want to outlaw food, based on your racial hatred, and add more F*#ked dopers based on your immorality, and lack of compassion for kids with drug-addict parents…
REAL Smart…Dumb@$$……LMAO…True liberal party genius…
The 60s called they want their refer madness back.
The 60s called they want their refer madness back.
The 30s called the 60s “a bunch of would-be thieves”.
“more on”
——
play on words?
Jones family DSS case to be discussed at Senate oversight subcommittee next week
Chad Mills
Sep 12, 2014 09:36 AM
LEXINGTON, SC (WIS) – A Senate panel that’s been investigating DSS issues will soon take a look at the Jones family case after the family was reported to DSS three times in three years.
DSS should have been overhauled a long time ago, the ethics commission have ZERO teeth, the comptroller general’s office provides information, but there is no enforcement mechanism and then last, but certainly not the least is the dept.of education. why does sc even have one? sc has been at the bottom of the barrel for years. what has this dept. done for education in SC……NOTHING!!! for the same reason, it CAN’T. but the taxpayers continue to pay for all these political appointees to do NADA!!!
ultimately, does anyone make a decision for the RIGHT reason anymore? there is always an angle, an owed favor, an “attaboy” if you help me out. AND ON THE FLIP SIDE, there are the citizens that have sat back and said nothing for sooo long. this is why government is completely out of control, here in sc and the d.c.
apathy makes dead of the living.