A new report details a pattern of child abuse and neglect cases happening in the Antelope Valley more frequently than in other parts of Southern California.
The desert communities have become notorious for several highly-publicized cases involving abuse and deaths of young children, including 8-year-old
in 2013 in Palmdale, 10-year-old
of Lancaster in 2018 and 4-year-old
of Palmdale in 2019.
Data from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services show the Antelope Valley had the highest rate of child deaths of the county’s eight service areas from 2015 to 2023. DCFS reported 23 such cases during that period, for a rate of 21 cases per 100,000 children living in the region.
“The tragedies in the Antelope Valley reflect a critical need for community resources and a critical need for agencies to work together,” said Deanne Durfee, executive director of the Inter-agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect.
Durfee says her organization is teaming up with other agencies to target and stop child abuse. She says there needs to be more community outreach to prevent children from being abused or killed.