Apr 13, 2009 9:01 pm US/Pacific
Not Guity Pleas In San Pablo Child Abuse Case
RICHMOND (BCN) ―
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56-year-old Faasese Fiu (left), and 34-year-old Satu Diaz are accused of abusing three children.
CBS
Two San Pablo women accused of abusing three children in their care pleaded not guilty Monday to all the charges against them, according to a Contra Costa County Superior Court clerk.
Faasese Fiu, 56, and Satu Diaz, 34, have each been charged with three counts of child abuse for allegedly abusing two 11-year-old twin boys and their 13-year-old sister over a two-year period.
The children were originally from Samoa, but were sent to San Pablo to live with their grandmother, Fiu, and their aunt, Diaz, in the 2500 block of 22nd Street in March, 2007, after their parents divorced, according to San Pablo police Lt. Kenneth Bays.
Their mother had allegedly fled to a different island to escape abuse from their father and their father sent the children to San Pablo, Bays said.
The children were never enrolled in school in California and had allegedly been beaten with sticks and other hard objects. They had old and new bruises and scars covering their entire bodies, Bays said.
Their ankles were swollen from allegedly being forced to stand for hours on concrete in the hot sun and late into the night in the backyard and they were allegedly only given food about twice a week, Bays said.
They allegedly bathed themselves in the backyard with a garden hose and would be beaten if they asked to use the bathroom, police said.
The three siblings escaped March 26th and went to a nightclub a few blocks from their home where they asked for help.
Police took them to Doctors Medical Center, where they were examined, and then to Martinez, where they were interviewed at the Child Interview Center. They are now in protective custody, police said.
Several neighbors and family members have said they believe the allegations are false and that they believe the children injured each other roughhousing.
However, police said the children described the abuse in detail and the injuries on their bodies allegedly corroborate their stories.
Several other children lived in the house as well, but appeared healthy and well cared for, police said.
Fiu and Diaz remained in custody Monday at the West County Detention Facility in Richmond. Their bail remained at $450,000, according to a county jail official.
They are scheduled to return to court in Richmond on April 23rd for a preliminary hearing.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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