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Sarasota Stepfather Jailed, Accused Of Abusing Children

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By ANTHONY CORMIER

Saratota Herald-Tribune

Published: July 22, 2008

  Jameel Smith

SARASOTA COUNTY - State officials repeatedly investigated abuse complaints against a 26-year-old man before he was jailed late Sunday, accused of beating his stepdaughter with a belt, according to court documents.

Police say Jameel Karriem Smith admitted sometimes striking his stepchildren.

The Department of Children and Families has visited the home at least four times since 2005. Officials investigated claims that Jameel Karriem Smith hit his stepchildren with belts and a cooking pot, smacked them in the head and forced them to squat against a wall for long periods of time.

Smith was arrested late Sunday on charges of child abuse.

Two children whose names and ages were not released lived in the home with Smith and were placed with a foster family in June.

Court documents show that DCF investigators saw marks and bruises on the children beginning in June 2005.

According to an arrest report, department investigators tried to keep the children in the home and work with the parents.

The children's mother signed a nonremoval contract, agreed to attend parenting classes and signed a safety plan in which she said she would not allow corporal punishment of the children.

State welfare officials returned three times after the initial visit.

In June 2006, one of the children said he was hit in the head for no reason.

In December 2007, teachers called a DCF hot line when they noticed injuries to the children.

And in April, school officials again called the department, this time because the girl said she had been struck in the face.

The children told officials that Smith used the belt and a pot to strike them, and that he often made them stand against a wall with their legs bent for long periods.

Smith acknowledged in an April interview that he used physical discipline -- such as lashing the children's legs with a belt or "popping them on the head," the police report says.

The parents were enrolled in parenting classes and a diversion program; the children were sent to counseling, and a case manager was assigned to the family.

In June, DCF officials met and decided to take the children into custody.

Details of the case were sent to prosecutors for review, and Smith was arrested on a warrant.

Department of Children and Families spokesman Terry Field would not comment on the specific case. He said the department looks at several "red flags" -- such as serious injuries, a history of domestic violence or drug abuse -- when it decides whether to take children into custody.

In recent years, the agency has pushed to keep children in their homes instead of placing them in foster care.

Local officials are asked to rely on in-home services -- such as parenting classes -- because studies show that children do better in the long run when they stay with their family.

Last year, the state reduced the number of children removed from their homes, according to a study by the National Coalition on Child Protection Reform.

Smith remained in jail Monday in lieu of $100,000 bail.

The children's mother could not be reached for comment.

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