Parents arrested for torturing their 3-year-old daughter

VICTORVILLE • After a month-long investigation, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Victorville station authorities arrested a couple for abusing and starving their 3-year-old daughter, officials said Thursday.

The toddler was described as looking like an 18-month-old and was covered in new and old injuries throughout her tiny body, authorities reported.

The child’s biological parents, Lemon and Chasee Richard, both 37, of Victorville, were arrested and booked into Victor Valley Jail on Wednesday for torture of a child.

Detective Brett Zour went to the family’s home in the 16500 block of E Street on July 29 for a report of possible child abuse. There he noticed signs of abuse on the child and called the Department of Child Services, Karen Hunt, spokeswoman for the Victorville station, said.

The DCS representative advised the father his youngest daughter needed to be seen immediately by a physician and she was taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center. Physicians at the hospital concluded the child’s injuries were consistent with abuse, sheriff’s officials said, which included malnutrition due to the child going through periods of starvation.

At her initial doctor’s visit, the child weighed 27 pounds, Hunt said. That is the average weight of a typical 18-month-old. According to the Center for Disease Control, a typical 3-year-old weighs about 32 pounds.

Under a physician’s care the child received the proper nutrition and returned to a healthy weight.

The couple’s remaining three children, ages 9 months, 19 months and 16 years old, were removed from the home.

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Beatriz E. Valenzuela may be reached at (760)951-6276 or at BValenzuela@VVDailyPress.com.