SAN ANTONIO - We have new details in that horrific case of child abuse we were the first to tell you about earlier this week.
The daycare owner police have been looking for has turned herself in. Iliana Archuleta is charged with three counts of injury to a child in the investigation into abuse of three children she adopted. We're told Iliana Archuleta turned herself in before noon Friday, and is already out on bond.
Her relative, Rogelio Archuleta, was arrested two days ago and is still behind bars on a $150,000 bond.
In the meantime, we are learning more about the Archuletas and another case of alleged child abuse. A mother has come forward claiming her two young children, once fostered by the Archuletas, were also abused.
That mother recognized Archuleta when we showed her picture on the news. She says Iliana Archuleta is the same woman who was abusing her son and daughter. The mother described similarities in the type of abuse reported just this week.
“I don't know how these people are still foster parents and can adopt kids,” said the mother.
She said she tried to tell case workers and attorneys for years, but was ignored.
Her newborn son and 4-year-old daughter were taken away from her back in 2006 for something unrelated to child abuse. They were placed in the Archuleta's home. She then started noticing bruises on the children during her visits. Eventually, she reported it to an attorney after noticing her son had a horrible rash that wasn't being treated.
“My lawyer has to request actually a doctor visit,” she explained. “He made a paper, took it to CPS that said I want them to take them to the doctor.”
Her daughter then started telling her things that were happening to them inside the home.
“My daughter, she was crying. She said she couldn't take it and said one time this man came to her room and put a gun at her head and that she wanted to come home.”
From then on this mother took pictures and video taped their injuries for proof. The worst she said was an infected bite on her baby boy's foot, similar to the type of abuse reported in the Archuleta's home this week.
“Then my daughter told me in my ear, ‘Don't say mom, but Ilana's son bit Baby Edward’”
She says it took her baby suffering a skull fracture for him to be taken to the doctor. Finally, she says after a year and a half of reporting the abuse, she received a letter from an attorney for the state saying the department is unhappy with the speed at which the baby was receiving medical treatment and that both children were removed from the foster home.
“I hope now that the state come forward and really do something about it,” said the mother.
We should tell you this mother was not trying to get her children back. She just wanted them in a good and healthy home. They have since been adopted.
We have learned that anything involving foster placement or allegations reported are investigated by residential child care licensing, so they would have had to record this and ultimately decide whether the Archuleta's should continue fostering. Obviously, they were cleared because it was five years later before more abuse was reported and warrants went out for their arrest.
We're staying on top of this story and will keep you updated.
