Hearing for Girl Who Witnessed Alleged Barahona Abuse

Dad gets custody of girl who saw alleged abuse of twins in Barahona home

The six-year-old girl who allegedly reported the abuse of twins Victor and Nubia Barahona before last week's tragic incident on I-95 was the subject of yet another Department of Children and Families hearing in Miami Tuesday.

DCF lawyer Esther Jacobo said Tuesday that Jennifer Perez abused her daughter by exposing her to the torture of Victor and Nubia inside the Barahona home.

Perez, the daughter of Barahona's wife Carmen, claims she didn't know what was going on inside the Barahona home.

Few did know what was going on until last Monday, Feb. 14, when Jorge Barahona and Victor were found in a truck on the shoulder of I-95 in Palm Beach County.

Victor was found covered in chemicals, badly burned and with broken bones and scars throughout his body. His sister Nubia's body was found wrapped in a plastic bag in the bed of the truck.

Jennifer Perez's ex-husband, Yovani Perez, said she did know what was going on in the house and had even told the six-year-old to keep quiet.

The Department of Children and Families had reportedly received five separate claims that Nubia was being abused in the Barahona household.

The grandaughter is the one who told an adult just days before the I-95 tragedy that the twins were being abused and were being locked up in a bathroom with their wrists taped together.

The DCF investigator assigned to the Barahona case has been suspended, and the agency has created a independent panel to investigate the Barahona case.

Yovani Perez will keep custody of his daughter and a March 17 hearing will determine whether Jennifer Perez's parental rights will be terminated.

Jorge Barahona remains behind bars, without bond, charged with attempted murder and aggravated child abuse on Victor, who remains at Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition.

In court Tuesday, Carmen Barahona's lawyer said she'll seek a divorce from Jorge.

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