BAKERSFIELD, Calif., Aug. 9 (KNN) – Nearly a week after the death of 8-year-old Genesis Mata, demonstrators gathered outside the Kern County Department of Human Services demanding an investigation into Child Protective Services.
Family friends and community members accused CPS of failing Genesis and other children, saying multiple reports of suspected abuse were made, but no action was taken. Protesters are now calling for the caseworkers involved to be investigated.
Genesis Mata was killed the night of Aug. 1, according to statements from the suspects. Police discovered her body the next evening after responding to a welfare check at a La Quinta Inn in Bakersfield just after 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 2. Officers said they had been told a young girl might be unresponsive in a room. They forced their way into the bathroom, where they found her in a bathtub with significant trauma.
Investigators determined she had been abandoned. Two people — 31-year-old Ray Mata, Jr. of Bakersfield and 27-year-old Graciela Bustamonte of Delano — were arrested and booked on charges of murder, torture, and multiple counts of child abuse…