Death ‘didn’t need to happen’ in treadmill abuse case: Prosecutor
- Mom called authorities 100 times reporting abuse of son
- NewsNation confronts Child Protective Services worker
- Prosecutor: CPS 'hides behind these confidentiality laws'
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(NewsNation) — Jonathan Hatami, a prosecutor who has criminally charged social workers in a past abuse case, says the Child Protective Services workers involved in Corey Micciolo’s “treadmill abuse” case are “cowards” for refusing to speak out about the case on NewsNation.
“This didn’t need to happen. … “We would all be OK if they acknowledged their mistake,” Hatami said Monday on “CUOMO.” Many times, he says, CPS “hides behind these confidentiality laws. The only people that can ever expose them is the media.”
Last month, a jury found the New Jersey father guilty of aggravated manslaughter and child endangerment in the death of his 6-year-old son, Corey Micciolo.
The verdict came after a four-week trial, during which jurors heard from several witnesses over what could have led to the death of Corey Micciolo.
Gregor, 31, was initially charged with first-degree murder and endangerment of the welfare of a child stemming from surveillance video from the gym in his apartment complex that showed Gregor forcing his son to run at high speeds on a treadmill. The video shows Gregor continually increasing the speed on the treadmill, which forced his son to fall off the exercise equipment six times.
Corey Micciolo’s mother, Breanna, said she reported suspected abuse more than 100 times in 18 months, but no action was taken before her child’s death. She also alleges that caseworkers were given the “treadmill abuse” surveillance video. NewsNation’s Rich McHugh was also met with silence when he tried to confront a CPS worker involved with Micciolo’s case.
NewsNation approached the following people for comment on the case, all of whom ignored the request or declined comment:L
- Attorney General of New Jersey Matt Platkin
- Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J.
- Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J.
- Gail Howell: CPS area director
- Eileen Wolff: CPS assistant area director
Hatami said “many states believe in reunifying children, even with abusive parents … instead of removing them and protecting them.
“A lot of that has to do with money. Many states don’t want to spend the money to put kids in foster care or provide them with protection,” added Hatami, the prosecutor involved in the trials of Gabriel Fernandez.
