Las Vegas Review-Journal - News

Las Vegas police have seen a 9 percent jump in child abuse cases over the same period last year.

But what is most troubling to detectives is that the severity of the abuse seems to be worse this year.

"We're seeing more of it lately, and the injuries sustained to these children is immense," Lt. Ray Steiber said during a Thursday afternoon news conference.

The injuries can include broken bones or shaken baby syndrome, which can lead to brain damage, blindness or death.

Three-year-old Leland was the first death by child abuse the department has investigated this year. He was one of seven siblings, some of whom were also abused, but Leland bore the worst of it, Steiber said.

His mother's boyfriend, 23-year-old Jesse Parsons, would discipline the boy by striking him with a metal object or a wooden paddle, police said. The boy's mother, 29-year-old Elizabeth Tara Stack, was present for many of the attacks, police said.

Steiber did not elaborate on why Leland was abused more violently than his brothers and sisters. Parsons was not the father of any of the children.

When Stack called police to their east valley home at 12:11 a.m. Monday, Leland was unconscious, with severe bruising to his head and body. The injuries, which were also internal, were consistent with blunt force trauma, police said.

The same morning, investigators learned another sibling, a 7-year-old, had lacerations to the buttocks. The child was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

Leland's siblings have been placed in protective custody. Clark County Department of Family Services spokeswoman could not specify whether that meant the children were at a foster home or with other family members.

Stack had run-ins with Child Protective Services before because of domestic violence incidents involving her former husband, the children's father. In June 2006, the department was called over a beating between the two, but the charge was unsubstantiated. The couple were informed of the effects domestic violence has on children.

In November 2007, police responded to an accusation of emotional abuse and a threat of harm between Stack and her then-husband. Investigators found that the husband had completed impulse control classes for an unrelated matter. Stack was offered a referral for domestic violence or relationship counseling, but she refused, according to the department. The case was closed when the father moved away.

The Metropolitan Police Department investigated 1,563 cases of child abuse in 2009. Eight percent of those involved substantial bodily harm to the child.

This year, the department has investigated 250 cases, and 12 percent have involved substantial bodily harm.

Steiber said he doesn't know why the cases have become more violent. He speculated that the stresses of life, including joblessness, might be a factor.

The majority of cases involve young or new parents, he said.

He encourages parents who might be stressed to step back before lashing out physically on a child. He said they should seek help, such as calling a family member. Placing a child in a safe place of the house also helps, he said.

"Once law enforcement gets involved in a case involving abuse of a child, it's too late," Steiber said.

Parsons faces a charge of murder by child abuse, four counts of child abuse with substantial bodily harm and two counts of child abuse. Stack faces a charge of second-degree murder by child neglect and four counts of child neglect with substantial bodily harm.

Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.