How Could You? Hall of Shame-Anthony Walton & Mary Enzenbacher UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Cincinnati, Ohio, boyfriend of foster parent Mary Enzenbacher, Anthony Walton, 34, was arrested Monday on a charge of felonious assault, accused of severely beating a 2-year-old foster son.

“Enzenbacher – who has not been charged with a crime – admitted to police she witnessed the boy “being beaten over the past few days by Mr. Walton” and “refused to seek medical attention for him,” court records show. She could not be reached for comment.

According to court records, the boy suffered a cut to his liver, broken ribs and a “significant” head wound. He was so hurt, doctors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center couldn’t immediately operate. He remains hospitalized, Cincinnati police said Wednesday.

The welfare agency is reviewing the case to see if it could have done anything differently.

“We’re cooperating with police and doing our investigation,” said Hamilton County Job and Family Services spokesman Brian Gregg.

Unsubstantiated claims are not uncommon and would not have ruled out Enzenbacher as a caregiver. The court records show an unsubstantiated neglect charge in 2008 and an unsubstantiated physical abuse charge in 2006.

JFS would have had access to those records; it’s unclear if the agency knew. Gregg declined to comment on details.

JFS records show a caseworker saw the boy twice in August, once on Aug. 4 and then again Aug. 13, Gregg said; the boy was injured a week later. Visits were required once a month.

The Enquirer has requested public records for the caseworker’s name and personnel file.”

The toddler’s case dates to June, when his mom, Taquila Sims, 27, was arrested on a charge of child endangering. A Cincinnati police officer said she was drunk and not supervising her children.

That arrest prompted Job and Family Services intervention. When no family could be found to care for the boy, Sims suggested Enzenbacher, court records show; it’s not clear what their relationship is.

JFS agreed to the placement. Sims would later be convicted and sentenced to a year of probation, court records show.

Before placing the toddler with Enzenbacher, JFS caseworkers ensured she passed a background check and made sure her home was safe, Gregg said. The toddler was placed with Enzenbacher July 10.

“At the time of placement, Mr. Walton was not identified by Ms. Enzenbacher as someone living in her home,” court records said.

Sims was also unaware Walton lived there.

An Enquirer check of Walton’s criminal history showed he served a six-year prison term for aggravated robbery and was convicted on a 2005 domestic violence charge stemming from his choking a woman until she passed out.

On Monday, Cincinnati firefighters responded to a 911 call reporting the toddler was having trouble breathing. Paramedics arrived to find the boy in cardiac arrest.

Before Enzenbacher’s confession that she witnessed the toddler being beaten, both she and Walton tried to tell police they didn’t know what was wrong, according to court records.

Court records said Enzenbacher and Walton told police that the boy woke up at about 10:30 a.m. Monday and was “lethargic and unable to stand.” Walton added that when he tried to pick the boy up, his eyes rolled back into his head and “he was moaning,” the records said.

Job and Family Services has filed paperwork to take temporary custody of Enzenbacher’s 9-year-old daughter.  She cannot live with her father because of prior domestic violence charges, court records show.”

Severely beaten child was under county watch

[Cincinnati.com 8/23/12 by Sharoon Coolidge]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Why hasn’t the foster parent been charged with child endangerment if she has admitted to witnessing her boyfriend beat the child?

Update:”Anthony Walton just wanted to get the 2-year-old boy to listen to him.

He wanted the boy to chew his food or, alternatively, to stop hoarding it. When the child – in temporary custody of Walton’s girlfriend – didn’t, Walton had to teach him a lesson.

Walton beat the child so severely that when paramedics arrived Aug. 20, 2012, at Walton’s Over-the-Rhine home, the boy was in cardiac arrest.

On Friday, it was Walton’s turn to be taught a lesson.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Winkler did that by sending Walton, who pleaded guilty to felonious assault, to prison for seven years.

Assistant Prosecutor Anne Flanagan, though, told the judge that her office reserves the right to indict Walton for murder if the boy dies as a result of the beating.

“They were devastating injuries,” Flanagan said.

Walton admitted to authorities after his arrest that he “popped” the child a few times when the child wouldn’t chew his food or would urinate or defecate on himself. Walton also admitted he “shook him a few times, hit him a few times,” demonstrating the hit by throwing a punch like a boxer, court records note. Walton told police he usually hit the child in the rear but admitted he also hit him in the head and neck.

The child suffered head and brain trauma, fractured ribs, and cuts to his liver and kidneys.

“He has serious injuries that are permanent,” Flanagan said. “He is fed through a tube.”

Officials are unsure if the child ever will walk and unclear about how much he can see, she added.

The child’s parents were undergoing substance abuse treatment in 2012, so the child was left with their friend Mary Enzenbacher, Walton’s girlfriend. She has not been charged in the case.

The parents now have custody of their son. Enzenbacher had the child because his mother, Taquila Sims, is charged with child abuse after police said the 27-year-old was drunk and not supervising her children.

Walton also was convicted of domestic violence in 2005 after choking a woman until she passed out. He also served a prison term for aggravated robbery”

 Brutal beating of toddler sends man to prison[Cincinnati 2/21/14 by Kimball Perry]