Children's advocates, community disturbed by recent spike in child homicides

BATON ROUGE - Four-year-old China Record was forced to drink a lethal amount of liquor by her mother and grandmother, marking the latest of five children killed in the Baton Rouge area in the last three months.

"The Children's Advocacy Center in general, we are all appalled and horrified," child therapist Maria Elena Allgood said.

She's with the Baton Children's Advocacy Center which is recognizing April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.

"Fair to say that this has probably one of the most violent child abuse prevention months that we have had in a long time," Allgood said.

The advocacy center treats children who have experienced violence.

"We have seen a huge increase, maybe two to three times more as past years," therapist Dejion Hughes said.

With the deadly spike, these child advocates say we can no-longer refuse to report when we suspect a child is being abused.

"The community has a huge responsibility not only to protect, but to speak up for those children as well," Hughes said.

"It's so important for adults to step up and make those reports and do what is necessary to keep children safe," Allgood said.

And this therapist says it's as simple as see something, say something.

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