FLORESVILLE, TX — A man says he’s at his wit’s end trying to save a young boy’s life in Floresville. The man says the non-verbal 7-year-old boy with autism is being abused and that he’s being met with obstacles at every turn tying to report the abuse.
“The only way the kid can get their attention is he has to start yelling. So, what the parents do is they get tired of him, yelling and smacking him in the mouth. They yell at him. They spank him. If he’s hungry all they give him is crap. They don’t give him a good meal. They give him popcorn. They give him bread. I tried to report it but what I was told is you can’t report anything like this anonymous. You have to give them your information.
The man says he was stunned to find CPS would not take his report unless he gave his information. He says he wants to remain anonymous because the child’s parents are prison guards. The Texas Legislature voted to discontinue anonymous reporting in 2023 because of a high number of false accusations often made by parents involved in custody disputes. Carrie Wilcoxson, a CPS Case Consultation and Family Advocate, does not agree with that law and says protocols are in place when anonymous callers want to make a report.
“The intake specialist is required to inform that individual that they can make an anonymous call to law enforcement,” Wilcoxson said.
The anonymous reporter says he was not told about that option, but he did call law enforcement in Floresville and San Antonio and was met with another hurdle.
“I called non-emergency, and they told me the same thing, they can’t do anything about it.”
We called SAPD’s non-emergency number to ask if child abuse can be reported anonymously. They gave us the number to the Texas Abuse Hotline which told us they cannot accept anonymous reports.
The Floresville Police Department did a welfare check at the child’s home tonight. No one was home at the time of the welfare check, but they will continue to follow up.