Buried in the news headlines last week was a story about a Red Lake grandmother who was sentenced to 15 months in prison for child neglect.
Sharon Rosebear, 64, was accused of intentionally withholding food and necessary health care from her granddaughter, who was under her care. Ultimately, the girl died from the combined effects of starvation and infection. At the time of her death, she weighed the same as nearly three years earlier. A deadly infection may have entered her body through scratches on her scalp caused by unaddressed lice.
Rosebear and her granddaughter received nutritional and cash assistance. Additionally, Rosebear had access to healthcare and transportation to healthcare, which is free within the Red Lake Nation. Yet the little girl’s basic needs continued to remain unmet.
“One of the most tragic things about [the child’s] death is that it was so easily preventable … day after day, week after week, month after month, Ms. Rosebear watched as [the child] slowly starved to death,” Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz commented at trial.
Unfortunately, these cases are more common than people may realize. This little girl – whose name is unknown – was one of nearly two dozen Minnesota children who died as a result of maltreatment in 2022. Well over half of these cases involved neglect, according to data from Minnesota’s Child Maltreatment Report, 2022.
One of the issues Safe Passage is pushing for is better training for mandated reporters on how to recognize signs of statutory neglect. The current mandated reporter training, sponsored by the state, includes almost no information on this topic.
Know the signs. Don’t hesitate to make a report if you suspect a child is being neglected.