Madison Reporter

Madison Police now report Child Protective Services had been in contact with the family of a 20-month-old girl about a related abuse case in the same week that she was found dead.  

"On Thursday, the week before, police responded to the same apartment for reports of a separate child abuse allegedly involving Gone of the late toddler’s siblings,” a department spokesperson told NBC15.com. “MPD said the sibling is under the age of 10 years old and was not seriously injured.”

Police have since taken 23-year-old Marshawn D. Giles into custody on a child abuse charge stemming from the domestic violence episode where the girl’s mother was also seriously injured.

Reports are when police arrived Giles had left the apartment, but officers concluded there was sufficient evidence to arrest him on a child abuse count and Department of Corrections hold. Investigators also recommended the children stay with family, but without a formal order, they could not require it.

At the same time, officers from the department’s Gang and Neighborhood Crime Abatement Team and Special Victims Unit began putting together a plan to take Giles into custody. Four days later, they responded to the call that led them to the fatally injured child.

Many experts warn it can be dangerous and even life-threatening when victims of abuse try to stand up for themselves or leave their abuser.

Domestic Abuse Intervention Services, or DAIS, is hoping that’s where organizations like theirs can come in.

“It’s really about providing that immediate safety and helping them figure out their plan for their midterm and long-term safety,” Executive Director Shannon Barry told NBC about what the organization that aims to empower all those affected by domestic violence.

By Berry’s estimates, one out of every four women and one-in-seven men will experience physical or sexual assault by an intimate partner at some point in their life.

In Dane County, that comes to in the neighborhood of 63,000 women and girls, even though legally speaking not all abuse cases meet the criteria needed for victims to be separated from their abusers. Barry added DAiS receives between eight and 10 thousand calls a year and the homicide-prevention shelter is always at full capacity.

“I think one of the biggest barriers when we talk about, ‘why don’t they leave,’ there a myriad of reasons,” she added. “Access to safe and affordable housing is one of the top reasons.”

At DaiS, resources are made available to individuals regardless of whether there is an open abuse investigation or not. In instances where child abuse is reported and the situation is expected to result in juvenile or criminal court proceedings, agencies like Safe Harbor are standing at the ready.

The process involves social workers or police officers conducting recorded interviews with the child as part of the evidence-gathering process.

According to the Dane Co. Human Services website, “Safe Harbor interviews bring about fewer trials (as maltreaters will more frequently plead to charges), more successful prosecutions in instances when court proceedings do take place, and fewer (or no) court appearances for children when proceedings take place.”

Safe Harbor Executive Director Jennifer Ginsburg said it all stands to reason.

“Safe Harbor is a place where children are deeply listened to and I think it’s that sense of sort of unconditional support and caring and interest,” she added. “It’s a place where they know they’re not going to get in trouble.”

Ginsburg added the organization’s approach includes experts intervening early and often, all as part of a plan to minimize additional trauma to children by asking them to share their experiences. Neither Safe Harbor nor DAiS could confirm whether they had been in contact with the late toddler’s family.

“I think the important take home message from the situation on the west side is it’s important for everyone to realize that there’s a significant co-occurrent current of intimate partner violence and child abuse."

Anyone with questions about resources is encouraged to call DAiS confidential helpline at (608) 251-4445.