How Could You? Hall of Shame-Gilberto Rios UPDATED and Lawsuit

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 North Point, Florida, foster father Gilbert Rios, 64, “on trial for the alleged sexual abuse of a toddler, took his own life early Thursday, according to prosecutors.

Rios sat through court proceedings Tuesday and Wednesday and heard testimony from two girls who said they had both been abused by him when they were 3.

A verdict had been expected Thursday, but Assistant State Attorney Ryan Felix said the judge declared a mistrial before closing arguments began and sent jurors home instead.

“This is a terrible tragedy for his family and those close to him, but it’s his actions that put him on trial for capital sexual battery,” Felix said. “We have zero doubt he is guilty of abusing those children.”

Prosecutors: North Port foster father accused of sex abuse kills himself

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Update: “Children had been placed in foster home with man who committed suicide during his sexual abuse trial

Foster parent Gilberto Rios, who was accused of molesting at least three little girls, hung himself from a rafter of a shed at his North Port pool home during his sexual abuse trial in April 2019.

Now, two of those girls and their mother have filed a lawsuit in Sarasota against Gilberto’s widow, Nereida Rios, for physically abusing them, and against two child welfare organizations, Sarasota-based Safe Children Coalition (SCC) and New Port Richey-based Youth and Family Alternatives Inc. (YFA), for failing to ensure their “health, welfare and safety.”

As a result of their negligence, the two girls — identified only by their initials AP and JP — will suffer “mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, and expenses of hospitalization, medical and nursing care and treatment, exacerbation and/or aggravation of preexisting conditions, and other reasonable compensatory damages,” the lawsuit states.

“You have such extreme, bright red flags in this case, and that’s the tragedy here,” said Fort Lauderdale attorney Howard Talenfeld, who represents the mother and her daughters. “When you have red flags like that, you can’t take risks with the lives of children. There’s just too much room for harm.”

Brena Slater, chief executive of SCC, and Mark Wickham, chief executive of YFA, did not return phone and email messages.

Nereida Rios could not be reached for comment.

According to the lawsuit, the girls entered the care of Gilberto and Nereida Rios in May 2016 when they were toddlers — 2 and 3 years old — and they remained in their home through December of that year, occasionally visiting their mother for overnight stays and weekends.

It was during one of those visits in early October that their mother noticed that the older girl, AP, had a busted lip, a white buildup around her vagina that was difficult to clean and a bloody discharge, the lawsuit states.

The mother also reported that AP acted emotionally distant and upset, while JP acted aggressively.

During an overnight visit later that same month, AP told her mother that “Nereida Rios struck her face,” the lawsuit states. In response, her mother filed a hotline complaint on Nov. 2, in which she included information about the behavioral changes and worrying vaginal discharges.

Four days later — on another home visit — AP revealed to her mother “that she has secrets she is not allowed to tell or she will go to jail,” the lawsuits states, adding that “the ‘Boss Man’ hurts her between her legs.”

The lawsuit goes on to say that a staff meeting was held on Nov. 8 to discuss the AP and JP’s situation, and the Guardian Ad Litem representing the children expressed concerns about “the controlling nature of the foster home” where the children “were made to sit on a small rug or were locked in their bedroom.” But SCC and YFA officials, who attended the meeting, were not concerned enough to remove the children from the Rios household.

When they finally returned to their mother again on Dec. 22, there were more signs of abuse. The lawsuit says AP had bruises on her butt cheeks. She “was wetting her pants and acting fearful of getting in trouble for having a toileting accident.”

In addition, JP had a busted lip that she said she got from “Big Boss Man,” the lawsuit states.

Confronted with this feedback, Gilberto and Nereida Rios said they no longer wanted AP and JP in their home. “They did not want to be the subject of any further investigations,” the lawsuit says.

But instead of shutting the home down, SCC continued to send children. At least 10 more kids resided with Gilberto and Nereida Rios over the next 15 months, according to placement data from the Florida Safe Families Network (FSFN) database obtained by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and USA TODAY.

“Children at that age can’t speak for themselves,” said Talenfeld. “That’s why you have to look at the physical signs and listen to what the children do tell you — that Boss Man hurts her between her legs and there are secrets that she can’t tell.”

Those were bright red flags, said Talenfeld, who is co-counsel on the case along with Sarasota attorney Richard Fillson. But SCC and YFA didn’t pay attention, probably because a serious shortage of foster parents, not only in Sarasota but throughout Florida.

Finally, in 2018, another mother came forward claiming her adopted daughter had been molested while living in the Rios household in 2015 and Gilberto Rios was arrested.

That mother told police that she started suspecting her adopted daughter had been sexually abused when she saw her simulating oral sex with barbie dolls. When questioned, the 6-year-old told her that Rios had made her put his penis in her mouth when she was just 3.

Meanwhile, the lawsuit filed by the mother of AP and JP says that the little girls continued to act out and exhibit sexualized behavior after returning to their mother’s care.

AP — then age 4 — was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Talenfeld said kids who are sexually abused can become sexually reactive and start to replicate sexual behaviors.

“Some become sexually aggressive,” he said. “Others become extremely depressed. They have behavioral issues, repressed memories. This can cause significant trauma that can impact their lives. Some kids eventually die by suicide. Others develop reactive detachment disorders.”

It doesn’t mean every child, Talenfeld said.

“Some issues can be addressed right away through therapy. But brain chemistry is changed when a child is sexualized too soon, and the results can be terrible.””

Two girls, mother sue over alleged sexual abuse

[Herald Tribune 5/16/2020 by Michael Braga]