Couple charged with child abuse after 11 CPS investigations

Their history with Clark County Child Protective Services stretches back to 2008.

Las Vegas parents Donald E. Brown and Melissa D. Lawrence received 10 visits from CPS staff investigating allegations of possible neglect or abuse reported to the county’s child abuse hotline from 2008 to 2012, according to police and court records.

CPS, part of the Department of Family Services, investigated the welfare of one of Melissa’s daughters, who had injuries that included black eyes, bruises and a chipped tooth during that four-year period, court records show.

Court records also show the agency was aware during a 2010 investigation that Brown, 51, already had a criminal conviction in the death of another child. In 1984, he was convicted in California on a charge of manslaughter after his daughter died of multiple skull fractures, according to Clark County District Court records.

The two didn’t face criminal charges in Las Vegas until January, following their 11th CPS investigation, which started in late 2013, and a Metropolitan Police Department investigation that led to their arrests. The charges allege abuse that unfolded during a three-year period from 2010 to 2013, largely the same period when multiple CPS investigations were unable to substantiate such claims.

The last CPS investigation of the couple showed the agency responded in December 2013 to a high school after Lawrence’s daughter showed up with bruises under her left eye and an injury to her other eye. The investigation also found that the girl had bruises on her back.

CPS removed the girl and three other children from the couple’s custody in January, nearly one month after the investigation started, police reports show.

Brown is charged in a 19-count indictment that alleges child abuse, neglect or endangerment and battery with use of a deadly weapon constituting domestic violence. The indictment also alleges Brown tried to intimidate the teen into lying to police about how her back was injured.

Lawrence, 34, is named in three various child neglect charges in the indictment that alleges she had a role in placing a child in a situation with the potential for injuries and delayed or failed to get medical treatment.

Police records indicate that Brown and Lawrence have been together for more than a decade.

Whitney Luksaik, a Department of Family Services employee since 2007, testified at a preliminary hearing for the couple in July about CPS investigating a call placed to the county’s child abuse hotline in 2010.

“We did have concerns because we had multiple calls into the hotline and investigations that dealt with physical abuse,” she testified, according to a transcript of the hearing.

Luksaik testified she visited Lawrence.

“I had addressed with her the concerns of her husband, and knowing the history of his criminal offenses that he had been charged with in regards to another minor that had died, and she was fully aware of it,” Luksaik said.

One of the children interviewed in 2010 told Luksaik that Brown and Lawrence had said to say nothing if adults question her about what happens in the home, or she would get into trouble, according to Luksaik’s testimony.

“I tried to explore what trouble meant, but she was pretty quiet and shut down at that point,” Luksaik testified.

Asked if the information rose to the level of removing the children from the house, she testified it didn’t, and there was input from her supervisor.

She also testified that she did a safety plan during a subsequent investigation in 2010, and the child was removed for an unspecified period of time. In general, safety plans keep the department involved with a family, with an eye toward child safety.

Family Services spokeswoman Kristi Jourdan said in a statement that criminal history alone doesn’t determine whether a child’s removal is necessary.

“Prior criminal convictions do not dictate the path a CPS investigation takes, but that information can show patterns of behavior that provide insight into a caregiver’s willingness or ability to protect a child,” she said in an email. “That information alone cannot be used to entirely justify removing a child — it’s just one factor of many taken into consideration when assessing for child safety to determine if a removal is warranted.”

She noted that factor varies based on the type of crime.

“For example, a financial crime is very different from a violent crime,” Jourdan said.

Jourdan was unable to comment on the specifics of this case due to confidentiality requirements of child welfare cases.

Brown’s attorney didn’t return a call for comment. Brown has denied the allegations in court records, contending there is “zero evidence.”

Since his 1984 conviction, Brown argues in court records, he has raised a son who is now an adult serving in the military.

Lawrence’s attorney, Michael Gowdey, said, “No prior instances of CPS involvement ever resulted in a finding that there was abuse or neglect with this girl. In fact, there were witnesses to each and every one of the instances which showed that there was no abuse or neglect.”

“Melissa Lawrence is a good mother,” Gowdey said.

Records show Family Court has approved a reunification plan for the couple and their children, with oversight from CPS.

The two are scheduled to go to trial in October.

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-405-9781. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.