August 10, 2021
A 40-year-old Cypress man has been charged with several counts of child abuse. He allegedly tortured a child, sexual assault and torture of 14-year-old and abused two other minors.
Douglas Michael Alba has been charged with one count of torture, one count of child abuse and endangerment, four counts of corporal injury on a child, two counts each of sodomy by force of a child 14 or older, sexual penetration of a child older than 14, lewd acts on a child 14 or 15, and attempted forcible oral copulation of a minor 14 or older. He will also face a sentence enhancement for causing excessive bodily injury to a victim.
Jennifer Stewart has been charged as co-defendant with a felony count of being an accessory after the fact. She was released on bail on Aug. 6.
The relationship between Douglas and Stewart or their relationship with the abused children is not clear.
The children were allegedly abused for a year by Alba. The alleged abuse came to light when last month the 10-year-old boy was taken to an area hospital with black eyes, bleeding on the brain and bruises all over his body.
The Cypress police department arrested Alba soon after, in August. 1 and he is being held on $1 million bails. His arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 24. If convicted of all the charges he faces a maximum sentence of 30 years to life in prison.
As per the Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer, the psychological and emotional trauma endured by the kids was far beyond the physical scars and bruises suffered.
No other information about the defendant or the victims has been released by the Officials.
What is child abuse and neglect?
As per the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), child abuse and neglect is categorized under four main heads:
- Physical Abuse: When a child is injured irrespective of the intent of the abuser, any form of hitting, kicking, throwing or beating is considered physical abuse. It can lead to bruises to fractures to brain damage to death.
- Child Neglect: Failure to efficiently supervise or care for a child, unable to fulfil a child’s basic needs, exposing a child to domestic violence, and failure to provide education to a child are all instances of child neglect.
- Emotional Abuse: Emotional abuse can be termed as the pattern of treating a child in a manner that negatively impacts their emotional development. This includes withholding affection or support from the child, threatening them, excessively criticizing, or unnecessarily confining the child.
- Sexual Abuse: Using a child for sexual gratification by inducing, persuading, or coercing the child to engage in or assist with sexual activity. Sexual abuse includes rape, child prostitution, making lewd gestures or exploiting a child by producing pornographic materials.
Child Abuse Lawyer California
We at Khashan Law believe that every abused child deserves justice. They have a right to receive a fair trial and secure compensation for what they’ve suffered.
We empathize with our clients and respect their situation, we know that it takes courage on their part to confront their abuser who is responsible for hurting them and sexually abusing them.
Our team of experienced sexual abuse attorneys at Khashan Law will work your case on a contingency basis, which means we will get paid only if we are able to secure a financial settlement for the child. Call us on 951.461.2387 to schedule a free and confidential consultation with us today.