If you are concerned about a child being neglected or abused, call Maine’s 24-hour hotline at 800-452-1999 or 711 to speak with a child protective specialist. Calls may be made anonymously. For more information, visit maine.gov/dhhs/ocfs/provider-resources/reporting-suspected-child-abuse-and-neglect.
A new report from the government agency that oversees all state agencies in Maine cleared the Department of Health and Human Services of wrongdoing in the beating death of 3-year-old Maddox Williams, who died in June 2021 of battered child syndrome.
In addition to that conclusion, the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability found that the Office of Child and Family Services within the Department of Health and Humans Services neglected to interview the father of Jessica Trefethen’s oldest child, with whom the teenager lives. That interview might have given case workers better insight into whether Maddox Williams was at risk or not, the report said.
The girl testified at her mother’s murder trial that she had seen Trefethen “throw” the boy out of a motel bathroom when the family was vacationing.
OPEGA’s report on Maddox William’s death is the second of four expected to be delivered to the government oversight committee, which will continue to look into what changes can and should be made to the state’s child welfare system.
The first involved the death of a 3-year-old girl in Old Town, who died in June 2021 after she ingested her mother’s fentanyl. In February, OPEGA cleared DHHS of any wrongdoing in her case.
Peter Schleck, the director of OPEGA, told members of the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee that Maddox Williams and his family’s involvement with the department “is complicated and characterized by multiple children, relationships, reports, investigations and court proceedings during a history of child protective services involvement that preceded Maddox’s birth.”
He described case workers’ multiple involvements with Trefethen before Maddox Williams was born that included the removal of older children from her home when one ingested her methadone. Trefethen was not cooperative, but instead “began to exhibit volatile and hostile behavior toward the caseworker, GAL, foster parents, and visitation supervisors” during the reunification efforts,” the report said.
Maddox Williams was born prematurely on Jan. 9, 2018, at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, according to trial testimony. He left the hospital two months later and lived with his father until he was 2 years old, his paternal grandmother, Victoria Vose, 53, of Warren told jurors. He went to live with his mother after his father, Andrew Williams, 30, of Warren was arrested on March 7, 2021.
Vose, who has advocated for changes within DHHS’ child protection division, never saw her grandson alive again.
Schleck told the committee in February that the reports on the cases could be a vehicle for future conversations about whether laws, policies and procedures need to be changed, pointing out that a particular challenge is regarding parent and guardian participation in DHHS investigations.
If there isn’t enough evidence for DHHS to remove a child from a situation immediately, the parents or guardians do not have to participate in the investigation, unless ordered by a court, he said then.
Last year, the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee requested that the independent investigative agency look into DHHS’ involvement with the families of 6-week-old Jaden Harding of Brewer, 3-year-old Hailey Goding of Old Town and 1-month-old Sylus Melvin of Milo.
All four children died in the summer of 2021, and in all four cases a parent was charged with murder or manslaughter in connection with the child’s death. OPEGA can not complete its investigations until the criminal cases have concluded.
Ronald Harding, 38, of Brewer was convicted last month by a Penobscot County jury of manslaughter in the death of his son. He remains at the Penobscot County Jail awaiting sentencing.
Hillary Goding, 30, of Old Town pleaded guilty last fall to manslaughter in the death of her daughter. She was sentenced to 26 years in prison with all 19 years suspended, followed by six years of probation.
The mother of Maddox Williams, Jessica Trefethen, 37, of Stockton Springs was convicted of murder by a Waldo County jury in October. She and Goding are incarcerated at the Maine Correctional Institute in Windham.
Reginald Melvin, 29, of Milo is tentatively scheduled to be tried in August before a Piscataquis County jury in Dover-Foxcroft. He has pleaded not guilty to murder in the death of his son. Melvin is being held without bail at the Piscataquis County Jail.