A Visalia foster mother was arrested on child abuse charges after a toddler suffered life-threatening injuries, the Visalia Police Department said Friday. A half-dozen other children were removed from the home afterward.
On Sunday around 2:30 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 1400 block of east Sunnyview Avenue for an 18-month-old child who was unresponsive as a result of a fall, the Police Department said, but the injuries did not appear consistent with what was described by the foster mother.
The child was transported to Kaweah Delta Medical Center and later transferred to Valley Children’s
Hospital.
A joint investigation by the Valley Children’s Child Abuse team and Visalia Police Department Violent
Crimes Unit led to the determination that the life-threatening injuries were the result of child abuse by the foster mother, police said.
On Friday, Darlene Valdovinos-Aguilera, 29, was arrested and later booked at the Tulare County Pretrial Facility on child abuse charges.
Six other children were removed from the residence by Tulare County Child Welfare Services, police said. None of the additional children are believed to be victims of child abuse.
