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The following story contains descriptions of abuse that some readers and listeners may find distressing.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The family of a 12-year-old Chester County girl, who died in May after years of alleged abuse at the hands of her father and his fiancée, is suing the agencies and schools that the suit claims failed to protect her.
The civil suit, filed in both state and federal court by three half-sisters of the victim, Malinda Hoagland, lists several defendants, including the Coatesville Area School District, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Chester County Children, Youth and Families (CYF). Allegations include alleges wrongful death, repeated violations of the "state-created danger" doctrine and overall egregious negligence and recklessness, reflected in multiple additional claims, according to a statement from the sisters' attorneys.
In a separate criminal case, Malinda’s father, Rendell Hoagland, and his fiancée, Cindy Warren, are charged with first-degree murder and related counts for the alleged systemic abuse and starvation of Malinda. The Chester County district attorney has said he plans to seek the death penalty.
Malinda died on May 4. Authorities responded to her West Caln home after her father called 911. First responders found the girl emaciated, malnourished and covered in bruises. She was rushed to the hospital, where doctors found she had at least a half-dozen broken bones and her organs were failing. The 12-year-old weighed only 50 pounds when she died at the hospital.
The cause of death was determined to be starvation and blunt force trauma. Officials said Malinda suffered injury to every organ system in her body, including her brain. Chester County D.A. Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said she was “subjected to physical and psychological torture” for 2 ½ years.
Investigators found videos on Hoagland’s and Warren’s phones from a home security camera system that showed them verbally berating Malinda and forcing her to perform strenuous exercises while shackled to furniture. Investigators said she was also denied food for days at a time.
In the new lawsuit, they claim Chester County CYF failed to conduct an in-home visit, despite ChildLine reports in June and November of last year describing unexplained bruises and apparent malnutrition to the point that Malinda was stashing food in her school locker.
The suit says CYF also should have been aware of Warren’s 2007 felony conviction for abusing her then-3-year-old son in Monroe County.
The lawsuit cites a text message to Hoagland from Warren (to whom the lawsuit refers as Malinda's stepmother), saying she was “crying n sick to my stomach,” worried that CYF would come to their home after a phone call following the November ChildLine report. However, as the suit puts it, “Warren’s suspicions were incorrect. Chester County CYF never came.”
The suit also claims the Coatesville Area School District failed to follow laws and policies regarding 25 unexcused absences and 10 excused ones, which, according to the suit, would have brought attention to the abuse.
As a direct result of [Coatesville Area School District’s] and North Brandywine Middle School’s unlawful policy, custom, and practice of ignoring state-mandated truancy law and reporting requirements, no magisterial district judge was ever notified — as required — by CASD and North Brandywine Middle School of Malinda Hoagland’s truancy,” the suit adds. “This resulted in an increased risk of danger to Malinda and, in fact, subjected her to sustained physical abuse, sexual abuse, torture, and starvation at the hands of Cindy Warren and Rendell Hoagland.”
Hoagland and Warren ultimately pulled Malinda out of school last fall.
The girl's family said the goal of the lawsuit is to raise awareness about the alleged failings and prevent similar situations from happening to other children.
A spokesperson for Chester County said officials cannot comment on pending litigation.
A spokesperson for Coatesville Area School District released the following statement:
“The torture and death of this child is a horrific tragedy. We follow and exceed state-mandated policies and procedures for training of faculty and staff to identify and report suspected child abuse. We were shocked and shaken by the news that Malinda Hoagland had died months after being withdrawn from our school district last year. As this is a legal matter, it is not our policy to respond to questions from the media. We continue to be invested in working collectively with other school districts, legislators, and county and state officials and agencies to do all we can to strengthen the system of child protection.”
CLARIFICATION: This article has been edited to reflect that Cindy Warren and Rendell Hoagland are not married, but the new lawsuit filed by Malinda Hoagland's sisters refer to Warren as the girl's stepmother.