West Valley couple charged with child torture for allegedly starving 5-year-old – KSL.com

Report on Child Abuse Case in West Valley City and its Relation to Sustainable Development Goals

Case Summary

Daniel James Fivas, 32, and Jessica Marie Harmes, 44, of West Valley City, have been formally charged with the first-degree felony of child torture. The charges pertain to the severe and prolonged neglect and starvation of a 5-year-old girl under their care. The case highlights significant failures in achieving fundamental Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to human well-being and justice.

Violations of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

The case represents a severe violation of SDG 2, which aims to end hunger and ensure access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food. The purposeful withholding of food is the central element of the abuse.

• Prosecutors allege that the defendants intentionally withheld food from the victim for a period of at least two years.
• The child’s extreme hunger led her to consume non-food items, including Play-Doh, frozen foods, moldy bread from the trash, and her own feces.
• Access to food was physically restricted through the use of child locks on the refrigerator, freezer, cabinets, and garbage can.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

The actions of the accused directly contravened the targets of SDG 3, which promotes healthy lives and well-being for all ages. The victim suffered extreme physical and psychological harm.

• Upon hospital admission, the 5-year-old victim weighed the equivalent of an average 16-month-old child.
• Medical intervention demonstrated the severity of the malnutrition; she gained 8 pounds in 16 days while in hospital care.
• The charging documents define the treatment as severe psychological abuse, noting the child was isolated, unable to talk, and forced to watch family members eat while she was denied food.
• The child was denied basic living standards, such as a bed, and was forced to sleep on the floor.

SDG 4: Quality Education

The victim was denied the right to education, a cornerstone of SDG 4. This denial contributed to her isolation and lack of developmental opportunities.

• Official records confirm the child was not enrolled in or attending school.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

This goal calls for the end of abuse, exploitation, and torture of children and the promotion of justice through accountable institutions. The legal proceedings are a response to the failure to protect the victim.

• The filing of first-degree felony charges for child torture reflects the justice system’s response to the severe abuse.
• The case exposes a breakdown in the protection of vulnerable children from violence and torture within the home.
• The intervention by law enforcement and the placement of the child into the foster care system represent an institutional action to ensure her immediate safety and well-being.

Case Details and Legal Proceedings

Allegations from Charging Documents

1. The victim’s health and growth had been “plummeting” for at least two years due to the purposeful withholding of food.
2. Daniel Fivas reportedly admitted to resenting the child, stating she “rubbed him the wrong way” and that he had tried to give up custody.
3. Prosecutors assert that the combination of starvation, unusual disciplinary practices, and severe psychological abuse constitutes child torture under the law.

Current Status

• Daniel Fivas and Jessica Marie Harmes were arrested and charged.
• The victim has been removed from the home and placed with a foster family.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

The article highlights several issues that directly connect to the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger

  This goal is central to the article, as the primary form of abuse described is the deliberate starvation of a 5-year-old girl. The text explicitly states that the couple “purposefully withheld food from the victim,” leading to severe malnutrition.

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

  The girl’s physical health was severely compromised due to starvation. The article notes her “plummeting in health and growth” and that she “weighed the same as an approximate 16-month-old child despite being 5 years old.” Her subsequent hospitalization and recovery also fall under the scope of this goal.

• SDG 4: Quality Education

  The article clearly states that the victim “was not attending school” and “wasn’t enrolled in school.” This represents a complete denial of her right to education, which is the core focus of SDG 4.

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

  This goal is relevant because the case involves extreme violence against a child. The article details charges of “child torture,” “starvation and severe psychological abuse.” The involvement of the police, prosecutors, and the court system in charging the perpetrators addresses the justice aspect of this goal, which aims to end abuse and violence against children.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Based on the details in the article, the following specific SDG targets can be identified:

• Target 2.1: End hunger and ensure access to food

  This target aims to “end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.” The 5-year-old girl, a person in a vulnerable situation, was denied access to sufficient food, as evidenced by her eating “frozen foods, Play-Doh, moldy bread that had already been placed in the trash, and various other items.”

• Target 2.2: End all forms of malnutrition

  This target seeks to “end all forms of malnutrition… including… targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age.” The girl’s condition, where she weighed as much as a 16-month-old at age 5, is a clear and severe case of wasting, a form of acute malnutrition directly addressed by this target.

• Target 4.1: Ensure free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education

  This target is to “ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education.” The article’s statement that the girl “wasn’t enrolled in school” shows a direct failure to meet this target for a child of school-going age.

• Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children

  The entire case is an example of what this target aims to eliminate. The legal charges of “child torture,” which prosecutors define as including “unusual disciplinary practices, starvation and severe psychological abuse,” directly align with the language of ending “all forms of violence against and torture of children.”

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Yes, the article contains specific information that can serve as indicators to measure the status of the identified targets:

• Indicator for Target 2.2 (Malnutrition):

  The article provides a direct measure of malnutrition (wasting). The statement that the girl “weighed the same as an approximate 16-month-old child despite being 5 years old” is a specific data point related to the prevalence of malnutrition. Furthermore, her recovery, “she gained 8 pounds in 16 days,” serves as an indicator of the effectiveness of intervention.

• Indicator for Target 4.1 (Education):

  A primary indicator for access to education is the enrollment rate. The article provides a clear, albeit negative, indicator by stating the girl “was not attending school” and “wasn’t enrolled in school.” This represents a 0% enrollment/attendance rate for this child.

• Indicator for Target 16.2 (Violence against children):

  The article implies indicators related to both the prevalence of and response to child abuse. The detailed description of the abuse—starvation, psychological torment (“resented” her), and isolation (“She didn’t have a bed… She couldn’t even talk”)—serves as a qualitative indicator of violence by a caregiver. The filing of charges for “child torture, a first-degree felony” acts as an indicator of the justice system’s response to such violence.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: ksl.com