The trials of Gabriel Fernandez - Netflix

[ShineYourLight2]

Anyone seen this? Truly heart breaking and made a real impact on me.

I haven't finished it yet but it's awful. Also what the hell is with the teacher? I understand she reported it. But if that was me I would be telling everyone I knew I wouldn't want him to go home I would be calling every minute of the day to sort the situation out. I am so frustrated watching this! I find her behaviour strange.

I know, I couldn't believe how incompetent she was. To be fair all professionals how came into contact with him were. But I felt she was trying to across as though she did everything she possibly could when she didn't. He should not have been allowed to go home with those injuries and she should've called the police herself. I don't know how she went to sleep those nights knowing he was coming in more and more injured on each occassion.

I'm a bit of a true crime addict but this documentary stayed with me it was so evil how he suffered at the hands of his 'mother' and her boyfriend. In Palmdale where he lived there's a memorial tree. There is outrage in the memorial fb site that the paternal grandfather on mother's side sued the DCFS ( social services) and from the money regularly puts money on his daughters 'book' ( a prisoner fund) so that she can buy provisions none of the social workers were charged and Gabriel's siblings are now being raised by an uncle. Two more boys from the same area have since been abused and died by 'parents' under the 'care' of the same DCFS so lessons have sadly not been learnt since his death. One of the social workers in the case ( the older lady) became a nun and still denied falsifying documents.

I think she was a nun before.

The system is very clearly not fit for purpose. I know we still have concerns in the UK and children sadly 'slip through the net' but, when you see that programme, you realise we are miles ahead in terms of multi agency working etc. I think a few years ago we had similar issues, where each agency thought they'd done their bit but no one was actually taking a lead on it and putting it all together. The use of private companies is poor too as it puts profit ahead of care, hence why staff are reluctant to stay late to make reports etc.

The teacher should have called the police, not taken his photo for mothers day.

Can you imagine how messed up that boys mind would have been?, going into school battered and bruised and even his teacher just gets him to pull a silly face for the camera! Omg.

Not only those 2 more boys, but I came across a YouTube video of a mum wanting to prosecute the services who failed to act when another boy died of hypothermia in a garage overnight, and it was known by authorities for a year that he was sometimes locked up in an unheated garage by his father who was a police officer, and abuse was reported by teachers.

Just started this tonight and a few episodes in. Truly heartbreaking.

I get the feeling the teacher just felt like she wasn't getting support anywhere and that maybe she was being made to feel like she was being dramatic, the school head telling her that we phone it in and that's it. The social worker doing sweet fa and her concerns falling on deaf ears. She also knew that each time she reported, it got worse for him [sad

Of course there's more she could have done, but at one point the sheriffs were called out (not by her) and took Gabriel aside and told him he'd go to jail if he kept lying. Poor boy had nobody to turn to.