Bubbaworld

Even more troubling are revelations regarding not only the DHS’s slow reaction to the April 10th child abuse incident at Chiles’ day care, but also the Tulsa County District Attorney’s slow reaction in filing charges against Vicki Chiles.

Regarding the time between the initial abuse report on April 10th and the emergency order to shut down Chiles’ day care on May 17th, DHS spokesman George Johnson said, “We believe we could’ve acted faster. But I can’t say that the revocation process would have been complete. She may have been open on May 17, when all this happened“.

The office of Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris has not commented upon the reason for the delay between May 4th, when Tulsa Police turned over the results of their investigation, and May 16th when charges were filed against Chiles for the April 10th incident.

The following is a time line of events between the April 10 incident and the death of 2-year-old Joshua Minton:

April 10 (Tuesday) – Vicki Leigh Chiles is accused of physically abusing an 8-year-old boy by hitting him with a fly swatter.

April 11 (Wednesday) – DHS receives a complaint of abuse for the previous day’s incident.

April 13 (Friday) – DHS workers interview Chiles, she allegedly admits hitting the boy between 10 to 12 times with the fly swatter while chasing him around a room.

April 19 (Thursday) – DHS notifies Tulsa Police of its findings.

April 20 (Friday) – Tulsa Police interview Chiles regarding the fly swatter incident an another in which she allegedly spanked another child leaving marks on his back. Chiles allegedly admits the fly swatter incident.

April 27 (Friday) – The boy hit with fly swatter is examined by a doctor at the Justice Center and doctor concludes his injures are from abuse.

May 4 (Friday) – Tulsa Police present their findings to office of District Attorney Tim Harris.

May 16 (Wednesday) – Tulsa County DA’s Office files felony child abuse charges against Vicki Leigh Chiles and an arrest warrant is issued.

May 17 (Thursday) – DHS issues emergency order revoking Chiles’ day care license and sends workers to shut her down. DHS workers discover Chiles attempting to perform CPR on Joshua Minton whose hands are bound in tape and tape is over his mouth. He is not breathing and is in cardiac arrest. Chiles is arrested and the boy is transported to a hospital in critical condition and dies that night.

In looking at the above time line several very glaring issues arise, all centered on delays demanding explanations.

The first such delay is that between April 13th when Chiles allegedly admitted the fly swatter incident in an interview with DHS workers and April 19th when DHS first notified Tulsa Police of the incident.

Tulsa Police interviewed Chiles the following day, April 20th.  However, there was a one-week delay in getting the child examined by a doctor at the Justice Center on April 27th.

With the doctor’s examination of the 8-year-old boy performed on April 27th, there is another one week delay in the Tulsa Police Department turning its finding over to the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office on May 4th.

The delay between the date Tulsa Police turned their findings over to the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office on May 4th and that office’s filing of charges 12 days later on May 16th.

And the biggest of all, the 34 day delay between Chiles alleged April 13th admission to DHS of the abuse of the 8-year-old boy and the issuance of an emergency order to revoke Chiles’ day care license on May 17.

Commentary and Opinion

Thirty-seven days elapsed between the 8-year-old boy being abused with the fly swatter and Joshua Minton’s death. Thirty-four days elapsed between Chiles’ alleged admission to DHS of that abuse and Joshua Minton’s death.

During that time frame Joshua’s parents Robert and Katy Minton were totally unaware of the child abuse allegation against the day care provider to whom they entrusted Joshua and at whose hand he would allegedly die. Under Oklahoma law they were not permitted to know and it was only on the night of Joshua’s death that they learned of the charges against Vicki Chiles for the April 10th abuse incident. By then it was too late.

In public announcements by DHS spokespersons it has been repeatedly stated that under Oklahoma law child abuse investigations are confidential and that before a day care provider’s license can be revoked an investigation, usually requiring 30 days or more is required. Of course such a claim leaves one with the question of what is to investigate when a day care operator admits abusing children and makes such an admission to DHS investigators?

Additionally DHS spokespersons have stated that DHS could not act to revoke Chiles’ license on an emergency basis until criminal charges were filed by the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office and only then could an emergency shutdown order be issued. This gives rise to the question of why even have DHS investigations of alleged abuse at day care facilities if DHS must wait for local police to conduct investigations and districts attorney to file charges?

The public statements of DHS in the wake of the murder of Joshua Minton simply do not pass the smell test and appear more intended as “butt covering” on the part of an agency that wraps itself in secrecy, answers to no one and holds in disdain everyone.

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