Did Agency Miss Signs of Child Abuse?

June 24, 2004 -- A 3-year-old Tennessee girl is lying in a Knoxville hospital, recovering from chemical burns on her eyes, arms, legs and buttocks, while the county Department of Child Services is investigating whether it could have done something to prevent the abuse.

While Haley Spicer recovers from surgery to treat her injuries, her biological father and his live-in girlfriend have been charged with child abuse.

Haley was taken from her Jacksboro home on June 16, when sheriff's deputies responding to a call from a neighbor found the girl burned and starved, with her eyes swollen shut and other bruises and marks on her body.

In addition to the chemical burns, Haley had a broken nose, scalding marks on her back and feet that may have been from boiling water, and cigarette burns all over her body, police said.

The neighbor discovered the child's condition after the father, who has custody of her, and his girlfriend were arrested earlier in the day on unrelated charges. Haley's brother and two sisters — who apparently hid when the deputies took the couple away — had gone to the neighbor's home.

Haley's siblings appeared to be in good health and were placed together in a foster home, according to county officials.

Tommy Owens, 30, and Charlotte Claiborne, 31, pleaded not guilty to charges of child abuse and child neglect Monday and were both ordered by Judge Joe Ayers to be held in the Campbell County Jail on $400,000 bond. They are due back in Campbell County court on June 29 for a preliminary hearing.

Owens and Claiborne are not the only ones facing charges related to the case, though.

Haley's mother, Rose Mary Spicer, was arrested and posted bond on June 18 after authorities say she threatened staff at the hospital where the girl is being treated. Spicer said she was denied access to her daughter. She was also arraigned Monday on charges of harassment.

‘She's My Life’

Spicer talked to ABC affiliate WATE in Knoxville on Saturday, the first interview she gave to the media. She said she wants to build a better life for little Haley.

"I love her. She's my life. I'm nothing with out her," Spicer said tearfully.

She said Owens was awarded custody of their daughter after Spicer failed to show up for a court date in December.

The only contact Spicer has had recently with Haley was two telephone conversations, she said.

"Charlotte [Claiborne] called me about a week and a half ago and let me talk to Haley. She sounded fine. She was talking about her puppies and her toys and everything. But I just got to talk to her for a minute," Spicer said, adding that her daughter never talked about being hurt. "Charlotte told me she was well taken care of."

Now Spicer is hoping to gain custody of Haley and start anew.

"Right now I'm waiting to go to court and I'm fighting for custody and I'm going to get her back," Spicer said. "She belongs with her mom."

Missed Signals?

Meanwhile, the head of the Campbell County Department of Children's Services said an internal affairs investigation is under way into the actions DCS staff took following reports of alleged abuse involving the tot.

"If attempts were made to notify DCS about the safety of this child, and we failed to respond in an appropriate and timely manner, this behavior is completely and totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated by this administration," DCS Commissioner Viola P. Miller said in a department release.

Miller indicated that disciplinary action could follow the investigation.

As far back as Aug. 26, 2003, DCS received a report of possible abuse of Haley, but an investigation revealed no wrongdoing. DCS and the sheriff's department received additional reports of abuse involving the girl, but they were not thoroughly investigated, officials said.

DCS is also working to implement a statewide system to respond to child abuse reports within 24 hours.

Officials from the DCS, the district attorney's office, and the Campbell County Sheriff's Department met for hours Tuesday to sort out reports of alleged physical abuse of Haley were handled.

The case is complicated because so many people are involved, detectives told WATE. And child abuse cases can be difficult to investigate because "very rarely are they a clear-cut case," said Assistant District Attorney Scarlett Ellis. "Many times they are silent crimes."

The first report of abuse involving Haley came on Aug. 26, 2003, but when DCS investigators went to her home and checked the girl for marks and bruises they found nothing.

Then on April 26, an anonymous caller made a similar report, but the caller was not specific as to which of the children living in the house was involved and DCS did not investigate, county officials said.

Campbell County Detective Sam Franklin said that in the past three months the sheriff's department also received an anonymous call. Someone asked deputies to check on the welfare of the children. An officer went to the house twice, but both times no one was home.

Franklin said he is not sure whether there were any further attempts to contact the family.

On the morning of June 16, officers arrested Owens and Claiborne on unrelated charges. Owens was accused of not paying fines and Claiborne was charged with passing fraudulent checks.

Officers believe the children hid before they arrived, then later called a baby sitter to pick them up. They ended up at the home of neighbor Lisa Smith, and investigators found Haley there later that night — but only four hours after the woman called 911 to report that the girl had serious injuries.

Smith called police at around 5:30 p.m. to report Haley's condition, but it wasn't until after 9 p.m. when deputies were sent to the house, Franklin said, explaining that the 911 center didn't dispatch the call.

The following day he called 911 to see why there was a near four-hour time lapse, he said. The reasons for the delay still aren't clear.

‘I Never Hurt That Baby’

Owens stayed quiet on the way into court Monday. But Claiborne pleaded her innocence, saying, "I didn't do nothing."

During the short hearing, the state presented six photographs of Haley, showing her condition when officers found her. Considering the nature of the offenses, the state asked for a half million dollars bond for each defendant.

Relatives of Haley, and her biological mother, think the couple had problems with drugs and alcohol.

"I never would imagine he would hurt his own blood, his own daughter," said Haley's aunt, Jennifer Williams. "But I guess you never know what somebody will do."

But Claiborne's mother, Darlene Klosterman, who was in court supporting her daughter, said Charlotte wasn't capable of abusing the little girl.

"I think Tommy and Charlotte both, they spoiled that little girl very much because they only got custody of her in November," she said. "And I think they showed a lot of love and affection toward her."

On the way back to her cell, Claiborne made a final statement to the camera.

"I never hurt that baby," she said.

ABC News affiliate WATE in Knoxville, Tenn., contributed to this report.

Donations for Haley can be sent to:

Baby Haley FundCampbell County Sheriff's Dept.P.O. Box 82Jacksboro, TN 37757