A New York City woman is facing the maximum sentence for beating and starving her three month old baby to death. The woman, Jovanniee Florestal, 26, received a sentence of 25 years to life.
The gruesome 2004 incident involved her three month old son, Colesvingtong. The baby's body was found in a Harlem shelter for the homeless with a fractured skull and shaken baby syndrome. At the time, the three month old weighed nine pounds.
Although child abuse laws are sometimes in conflict with the rights of autonomy of a parent to raise their child, the laws generally aim at protecting children from neglect. The child abuse laws therefore strike a delicate balance between the consitutional rights of parents and the criminal laws that protect the children.
Child abuse can be a crime, as it falls under assault and battery, among other potential crimes. Even a failure to report child abuse can constitute a Class A misdemeanor in New York. A New York criminal defense attorney would be familiar with the nuances of child abuse law, since there are often many false claims of child abuse. In fact, so much so that even making a false claim can constitute a misdemeanor in New York.
The mother, Jovannie, had blamed the death on the boy's father, Colesvintong Florestal Sr. Despite the fact that the father had already been sentenced to 20 years to life in 2006, after an admission that he had shaken the baby, Jovannie escaped the same verdict in her 2006 trial, when her New York criminal defense attorney asked the court to declare a mistrial. She was subsequently re-tried last month.
Related Resources
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Child Abuse: What is Child Neglect? (ABA Family Legal Guide)
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New York Child Abuse Laws (FindLaw)
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