		<div class="wpcnt">
			<div class="wpa">
				<span class="wpa-about">Advertisements</span>
				<div class="u top_amp">
							<amp-ad width="300" height="265"
		 type="pubmine"
		 data-siteid="109460728"
		 data-section="1">
		</amp-ad>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div><div class="alpha">
<div id="js-article-text" class="article-text wide ">
<h3><span style="color: #808080;"><strong><em>&#8216;How did we turn into a nation of haters where even the children are not spared?&#8217;</em></strong></span></h3>
<h3><em><span style="color: #808080;"><strong><b>&#8216;Who dropped the ball? 16 separate reports to DCFS over the years from relatives, school administrators , teachers and counselors that Anthony and his seven siblings were being abused in their home yielded no results, until the 10-year-old died&#8217;</b></strong></span></em></h3>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Boy, 10, came out as gay just weeks before he was found dead with head injuries and covered in cigarette burns as it is revealed CPS received 16 calls claiming he was being abused</strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Anthony Avalos died Thursday after suffering &#8216;suspicious&#8217; severe head injuries at his family home in Lancaster, California</strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Now authorities believe homophobia may have played a part in his death &#8211; </strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>His aunt Maria Barron reported the mother Heather Barron and her boyfriend Kareem Leiva to the county and Anthony&#8217;s school three years ago but said nothing was done to remove the children from the home</strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>LA Department of Children and Family Services received 16 calls alleging that Anthony&#8217;s mother and her boyfriend were abusing him and his seven siblings</strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Claimed they were sexually abusing, beating, withholding food from the children</strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>The victim&#8217;s mother, Heather Barron claimed Anthony received his injuries from a fall on Wednesday</strong></span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;">She and her boyfriend Kareem Leiva have yet to be charged in Anthony&#8217;s death </span></h6>
<h6><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Kareem Leiva who was also convicted of domestic abuse in 2010, was also documented by DCFS years ago allegedly, as a member of the MS-13 gang, but determined posed no threat to Anthony or his seven siblings. </strong></span><br />
<strong> </strong><br />
<span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Heather and Leiva have not yet been charged with any crimes related to Anthony&#8217;s death</strong></span></h6>
<div>
<h6 class="mol-para-with-font"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-295250" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Anthony-Avalos-9.jpeg" alt="Anthony Avalos 9.jpeg" width="1400" height="788" /><strong>Los Angeles authorities had already been investigating Anthony&#8217;s death as suspicious. They now believe homophobia may have played a part in the 10-year-old&#8217;s vicious injuries inside the family home leading to his death</strong></h6>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">A 10-year-old boy who was found with severe head injuries in his California apartment had come out as gay just weeks before his death.<br />
Antony Avalos was unresponsive by the time authorities arrived at his Lancaster home last Wednesday. He was taken off life support and died the next morning.<br />
Authorities had already been investigating his death as suspicious, but now believe homophobia may have played a part as well.<br />
Brandon Nichols, deputy director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, confirmed that Anthony had previously said he &#8216;liked boys&#8217;.</p>
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group">
<div class="mol-img">
<h6 class="image-wrap fff-pic"><strong><strong><img class="alignnone wp-image-295240" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Anthony-Avalos-1.png" alt="Anthony Avalos 1" width="675" height="567" /></strong></strong><strong>Tortured, and battered to death: Antony Avalos [left], was unresponsive by the time authorities arrived at his Lancaster home last Wednesday. He was taken off life support [right], and died the next morning.</strong></h6>
<div class="image-wrap fff-pic">
<div class="splitRight">10-year-old Anthony died Thursday after he was found unresponsive with severe head trauma at his family home in Los Angeles. Investigators have uncovered that the little boy came out and revealed to his family that &#8216; he liked boys&#8217; just weeks before his death. Authorities would not reveal when Anthony came out or who he told. However, the boy&#8217;s aunt, Maria Barron, said all things considered it would have taken immense bravery for Anthony to come out in his home.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group">
<p class="imageCaption">Maria has frequently voiced her concerns about Antony&#8217;s mother Heather Barron and her boyfriend Kareem Leiva.<br />
She began calling the DCFS in 2015 when she noticed bruises were appearing on Anthony and his seven siblings, who have since been removed from Heather&#8217;s home.<br />
Maria said the children told her Leiva had caused the bruises and also claimed he forced them to urinate and defecate in small spaces that he locked them inside.<br />
To come out to his family in such an environment &#8216;only reinforces how brave Anthony was&#8217;, Maria told the <a class="class" href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-boy-death-gay-20180626-story.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Los Angeles Times</a>.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group">
<h6 class="imageCaption"><img class="alignnone wp-image-295245" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Anthony-Avalos-and-his-aunt-Maria-Barron-1.png" alt="Anthony Avalos and his aunt, Maria Barron 1.png" width="664" height="630" /><strong>Anthony&#8217;s aunt, Maria Barron [photo, left], seen with the victim. said she reported his mother and her boyfriend to authorities years ago but nothing was done to remove him or his seven siblings from the home. </strong></h6>
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group">
<div class="splitLeft">Anthony&#8217;s mother told investigators that her son had &#8216;suffered injuries from a fall&#8217; when she called 911 around 12.15pm on Wednesday. Contradicting her version of events, EMS technicians discovered Anthony with severe head injuries. He also had cigarette burns all over his body.</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">It has since been revealed that the Department Of Child and Family Services, DCFS, received at least 16 calls alleging that Heather Barron and her live-in lover, Kareem Leiva were abusing her kids.<br />
School administrators and family members, as well as a teacher and a counselor, had all called in to voice their concerns regarding the welfare of the children, aged 11 months to 12 years old.<br />
They reports ranged from allegations of sexual abuse to physical and emotional abuse. The children were beaten and bruised, forced to fight one another, and forced to eat from the trash, according to DCFS Director Bobby Cagle.</p>
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group">
<h6 class="imageCaption"><img class="alignnone wp-image-295244" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Antony-Avalos-4.png" alt="Antony Avalos 4" width="674" height="552" /><b>Who dropped the ball? 16 separate reports to DCFS over the years from relatives, school administrators, teachers and counselors that Anthony and his seven siblings were being abused in their home yielded no results, until the 10-year-old died</b></h6>
</div>
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group">
<h6 class="imageCaption"><img class="alignnone wp-image-295248" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Anthony-Avalos-7.png" alt="Anthony Avalos 7.png" width="690" height="530" /><strong>The boy&#8217;s aunt Maria Barron said it would have taken immense bravery for Anthony to come out in his home, where she claims Anthony and his siblings were frequently abused</strong></h6>
<p class="imageCaption">It has since been revealed that the DCFS received at least 16 calls alleging that Heather and Leiva were abusing Anthony and his siblings, who are aged 11 months to 12 years old</p>
</div>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">The concerned callers also reported that the children were being denied food and water, were forced to crouch for hours, and were even dangled upside down from the home&#8217;s staircase.<br />
A Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s spokesman also revealed that Child Protective Services had come to the house at least once for child abuse allegations involving one of Anthony&#8217;s siblings.<br />
Maria reported Heather and Leiva to the county and Anthony&#8217;s school three years ago but said nothing was done to remove the children from the home.<br />
The DCFS also documented years ago that Leiva was allegedly a member of the MS-13 gang. But he was not determined to be a threat to Anthony or his seven siblings.<br />
Leiva was also convicted of domestic abuse in 2010.<br />
Heather and Leiva have not yet been charged with any crimes related to Anthony&#8217;s death.</p>
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group">
<div class="mol-img">
<h6 class="image-wrap fff-pic"><img class="alignnone wp-image-295249" src="https://konniemoments.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Relative-grieves-at-Anthonys-memorial.png" alt="Relative grieves at Anthony's memorial.png" width="682" height="359" /><strong>A relative grieves at a vigil held for Anthony. Police were called to Anthony&#8217;s family home in Lancaster, Calif., around noon on Wednesday. His mom claimed he had suffered the injuries from a fall </strong></h6>
<div id="inread_player" class="adHolder" data-adverts-ad="{";pos";:";inread_player";,";size";:[[636,1]],";id";:";inread_player";,";parentId";:";inread_player";,";type";:";636x1";,";extraZoneOptions";:{}}" data-google-query-id="CLWfn52L8tsCFRoYAQodX0sDlw">
<div id="_cm-css-reset" class="_cm-single-inline">
<div class="_cm-inline-video">
<div id="_cm-css-reset">
<div id="_cm-css-reset" class="_cm-video-ad vpaid-player-container">
<div id="1__cm-css-reset" class="_cm-video-ad vpaid-player-container vpaid-handler _ad-cm-playing">
<div class="_cm-video-ad vpaid-player-container vpaid-handler VpaidWrapper5"><span>A Los Angeles County Sheriff&#8217;s spokesman also revealed that Child Protective Services had come to the house at least once for child abuse allegations involving one of Anthony&#8217;s siblings.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="overlay-icon mobile-gallery"><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400;">Meanwhile, the DCFS has determined that Anthony likely died from child abuse.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400;">Cagle has said it is &#8216;premature&#8217; to conclude that Anthony&#8217;s death was in part due to the failure of the DCFS.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400;">&#8216;That&#8217;s a very complex question,&#8217; he told the Times. &#8216;It&#8217;s much more than a black-and-white issue. There are many shades of gray.&#8217; For DC</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400;">FS supervisor Janice Hahn, the department had failed Anthony.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400;">The department is currently collaborating with law enforcement in the investigation into the boy&#8217;s death. </span><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400;">Anthony&#8217;s siblings will remain out of his mother&#8217;s custody during the investigation.<br />
The family is seeking permanent separation. Maria Barron who reported Heather and Leiva to the county and Anthony&#8217;s school three years ago but said nothing was done to remove the children from the home, said: &#8216;Anthony deserves justice and the rest of my nieces and nephews do not deserve to go back to her,&#8217; Maria told <a class="class" href="https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2018/06/21/lancaster-boy-critical-condition/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">CBS2</a>.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div></div>
<div class="artSplitter mol-img-group">
<div class="mol-img">
<div class="image-wrap fff-pic">
<div class="overlay-icon mobile-gallery"></div>
</div>
<div class="container-3zJLP horizontal-1eH9F"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="inread_player" class="adHolder" data-adverts-ad="{";pos";:";inread_player";,";size";:[[636,1]],";id";:";inread_player";,";parentId";:";inread_player";,";type";:";636x1";,";extraZoneOptions";:{}}" data-google-query-id="CLWfn52L8tsCFRoYAQodX0sDlw">
<div id="_cm-css-reset" class="_cm-single-inline">
<div class="_cm-inline-video">
<div id="_cm-css-reset">
<div id="_cm-css-reset" class="_cm-video-ad vpaid-player-container">
<div id="1__cm-css-reset" class="_cm-video-ad vpaid-player-container vpaid-handler _ad-cm-playing">
<div class="_cm-video-ad vpaid-player-container vpaid-handler VpaidWrapper5"></div>
<div class="_cm-video-ad vpaid-player-container vpaid-handler _ad-cm-playing VpaidWrapper14"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="column-content cleared">
<div class="shareArticles">
<div class="teads-inread sm-screen">
<div>
<div class="teads-ui-components-adchoices"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div id="taboola-below-main-column" class="taboola trc_related_container trc_spotlight_widget" data-taboolaposition="afterArticle" data-placement-name="wide"></div>
<div id="most-read-news-wrapper" class="item" data-track-module="am-most_read_news^most_read_news" data-track-selector=".rotator-panels a" data-track-pos="static"></div>
<div id="reader-comments" class="article-reader-comments article-id-5888019"></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="beta"></div>

