When Juan Gonzales and his wife were sent to prison they left their toddler daughter, Cyleste, and her four-year-old brother with a good friend of theirs, Sarah Sifuentes. But they trusted the wrong woman. Cyleste ended up in the hospital with blunt-force trauma to the stomach, bruising all over her body, and a broken arm. And because the 22-month-old girl didn't get medical attention early enough she died.
Sifuentes was found guilty of injury to a child and serious bodily injury by omission. Now it's her turn to go to prison. Gonzales later said, "We thought she was a nice friend. We trusted her, and I mean, obviously..." Obviously she was a horrifically incompetent care-giver, at the least! Was Gonzales too trusting? And didn't he and his wife have better options for their children?
I wonder why the Gonzaleses would leave their children with those friends, rather than with grandparents, or siblings, or at least more reliable friends. Maybe they don't have family they can rely on. Maybe they've always associated with people who just barely have their own shit together and can't handle more kids. They must have been desperate for someone, anyone to take their kids. And they must have thought even their friends' home would be better than a state foster home.
I know we're all supposed to have a living will with plans for what to do with our children in the event of our death -- or anything else that might happen to us. (I'm not planning to do anything that sends me to prison, anyway!) But it's hard to think about putting that burden on anyone else. Another mouth to feed, another child to raise. And it's even harder to decide who you really trust.
But this should make all parents think extra hard about who they can trust to care for their children in an emergency. You may think your friends are "nice" -- but are they loving, compassionate, patient, and emotionally strong? That's more important.
Do you know who you would leave your children with in an emergency?
Image via KENS5 News
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Comments 64
Suzy I was going to say exactly the same thing!
they obviously had nobody else that would take the kids and no other choice but foster care. the state does not help you find suitable care, either you find someone or they take your kids. i'm sure the parents thought they were doing the right thing. it doesn't say what they went to prison for, that doesn't automatically make them bad parents.
I'm curious as to why they were allowed to be with a friend instead a relative anyway. Like, even if family wasn't an option, wouldn't the court help them find a foster or something?
When you have kids, you need to grow the fuck up. You can't be doing drugs, acting a fool, and doing shit that would leave your child stuck in some "friends" home because you're too big of a douche to keep out of jail.
These people did not die and their daughter become a victim of unfortunate circumstances. They were criminals, and do not deserve sympathy.
I wouldn't think this little girl's life would have been much better with her parents... how sad that children are born to parents who can't/won't take care of them.
"don't judge" ... what a crock. Of course I'm going to judge. Mom and Dad are in PRISION! And it isn't because they are "good people"! Perhaps this would never have happened if the parents had their heads screwed on straight. This little girl never had a chance.