A civil lawsuit filed on behalf of the surviving younger sisters of Arabella McCormack, an 11-year-old adopted girl, describe numerous failures to report and investigate child abuse.
The 27-page lawsuit filed late last week levels accusations at:
- The San Diego Police Department & one of its officers
- The San Diego Fire Rescue Department & one of its employees
- The Rock Church & one of its employees
- San Diego County Child Welfare Services and two of its employees
- Pacific Coast Academy & two of its employees
- The adoptive family: Leticia McCormack, the Estate of Brian McCormack, Adella Tom, & Stanley Tom
The death of Arabella
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
Prosecutors say Arabella died in Aug. of 2022, the victim of child abuse and torture at the hands of her adoptive mother Leticia McCormack, adoptive grandfather Stanley Tom, and adoptive grandmother Adella Tom. Deputy District Attorney Meredith Pro said Arabella and her younger sisters were hit with paddles and sticks, deprived of food and water, isolated in their rooms, denied access to bathrooms and forced to participate in rigorous exercises. Prosecutors say Arabella was severely malnourished, weighing just 48 pounds at the time of her death. They also say her body was covered in bruises and doctors found 13 still-healing bone fractures.
Claims against the San Diego Police Department
The lawsuit alleges SDPD Officer Lawanda Fisher not only failed in her duty as a mandated reporter to report child abuse and neglect but also directly contributed to the abuse by providing three wooden paddles to the McCormack family to “inflict pain on the girls.”
According to the lawsuit, she visited the McCormack’s home multiple times and saw them when they were, “severely emaciated, underdeveloped, and the victims of prolonged starvation.”
The lawsuit says the police department is, “liable for Officer Fisher's failure to report and her conduct, which are imputed to the police department.”
NBC 7 Investigates reached out to the SDPD and Officer Fisher for comment. Fisher has not responded. A spokesman for the police department told us SDPD will not comment on pending litigation, but confirmed that Fisher is currently an active-duty officer.
Claims against the San Diego Fire Rescue Department
The lawsuit also targets the San Diego Fire Rescue Department based on the conduct of employee Kevin Johnstone. It says he works for the fire department as a chaplain. The department told us he's not a full-time city employee and volunteers as a chaplain.
The suit claims Johnstone visited the family and saw the girls multiple times, including one instance a week before Arabella died. The lawsuit says the abuse and neglect, “should have been apparent to him.” It also alleges that he failed in his duty as a mandated reporter and that the fire department is “liable for Mr. Johnstone's failure to report.”
NBC 7 Investigates reached out to the SDFD for comment. A spokesperson told us the department couldn’t provide any information and directed us to the City Attorney’s office, which told us it would not comment on pending litigation.
NBC 7 spoke with Kevin Johnstone over the phone who declined to comment.
Claims against the Rock Church
Johnstone is also listed in the lawsuit in connection with the Rock Church, which it alleges is also liable. The suit says Johnstone is employed by the church as a Child Abuse Investigator and Safety Operations Manager.
Leticia was a volunteer and ordained youth ministry leader for The Rock Church. The Rock Church removed Leticia’s image and bio from the leadership page on its website after deputies opened a homicide investigation into Arabella’s death. After deputies arrested Leticia and her parents, the church told NBC 7 Investigates it revoked her ordained status and no longer maintains a relationship with Leticia.
Some of the material in the lawsuit is detailed in foster care and adoption records that NBC 7 Investigates obtained after a lengthy petition process in county juvenile court.
Those documents reveal that a church member called CWS (Child Welfare Services) after Arabella died. That person reported they were part of a group that prayed for the family and its difficulties handling Arabella. That person also said these prayer groups would happen over Zoom. In one instance, they describe seeing Arabella and said, “I was concerned what I saw the girl look like.”
The documents also contain a redacted complaint from a person who said they reported witnessing abuse of Arabella to a church counselor who, “told the witness not to say anything. When they asked for guidance, they were told to do nothing.”
The lawsuit alleges that members of the church, including Johnstone, became aware of the alleged abuse and neglect of the children. It mentions the post-death CWS report, the prayer group, and allegations that church members failed to report the abuse.
NBC 7 Investigates reached out to the Rock Church, but it declined to comment.
Claims against social workers and the county
The lawsuit also alleges systemic failures of San Diego County Child Welfare Services, which is now called Child & Family Well-Being, to properly investigate two alleged incidents of child abuse and neglect that were reported years before Arabella died.
In the first abuse report from 2018, CWS documents NBC 7 Investigates obtained reveal that two school workers at Highlands Elementary School separately shared concerns about unusual rules and controlling behaviors of the McCormacks. They were still Arabella’s foster parents at the time. The workers described mandates they got from the parents to limit Arabella’s water intake to one Dixie cup per day, restrict her food intake, and restrict her bathroom usage. In addition, one school employee said Arabella told them that she slept on the floor with a pillow, but without a bed or bedsheets, as a form of punishment.
The lawsuit contends, “The withholding of water and food, and bizarre punishments, are red flags for child abuse. These are the types of red flags that child welfare agents are trained to identify and act upon.”
The suit targets Shara Freeman, the CWS social worker investigating the abuse claim. It accuses her of not speaking with Arabella separately from Leticia. It says, “Freeman should have interviewed Arabella at her school where she could feel safe speaking” and “that children are unlikely to report abuse in front of their abusers.”
The CWS records NBC 7 Investigates obtained reflect Leticia told Freeman she was restricting Arabella’s food because Arabella had a medical condition, and spoke of stomach issues. None of the records the county gave us include an indication that a case worker reached out to any medical professional to confirm Arabella’s nutritional restrictions.
The lawsuit alleges Freeman never asked, “for any medical support for the extreme dietary restrictions.”
CWS documents reveal a second abuse report happened just three months later. Interviews with several school employees detailed an alarming incident at an after-school program. They reported that Brian grabbed Arabella and pinned her down, trying to see if she had candy in her pockets. Witnesses said she “screamed bloody murder.” When asked to leave, they said, Brian dragged Arabella to his car. Arabella later told school workers that, once at home, her parents stripped her of her pants and dumped cold water over her head.
The suit also alleges Freeman failed to identify another red flag when the McCormacks decided to home-school the children. It stated, “Ms. Freeman knew or should have known with proper training, that abusers avoid people and places likely to perceive and report their abuse. By homeschooling, Ms. McCormack removed Arabella from the one place she could be protected.”
The sisters are members of the Mesa Grande Band of Diegueno Indians. The lawsuit alleges that under the law, CWS was required to inform the tribe about both abuse reports. It says that didn’t happen, and says if the tribe had been notified, it would have stopped the adoption, which was finalized in 2019.
CWS documents show both abuse complaints were ruled unfounded. The lawsuit alleges that Freeman’s supervisor, Dennis Leggett is also responsible, saying that he signed off on the investigations.
NBC 7 reached out to San Diego County for comment, but a spokesperson told us the county would not comment on pending litigation. The spokesperson also told us Freeman and Leggett no longer are employed with the county, with Freeman leaving in late 2019 and Leggett departing in 2021. We made multiple efforts to make contact with Freeman & Leggett, but we have not received a response.
Claims against Pacific Coast Academy
The lawsuit alleges that all three girls were enrolled in Pacific Coast Academy in a home-schooling program where two teachers saw the girls every 20 days or so.
The documents that NBC 7 Investigates obtained from CWS mention the children were homeschooled, but they don’t list the name of the program.
Similarly to the other claims, the lawsuit alleges two teachers failed in their duties as mandated reporters.
NBC 7 Investigates reached out to the Pacific Coast Academy, which provided this statement on behalf of Krystin Demofonto, its Executive Director.
“The death of our former student Arabella McCormack and the injuries to her sisters which are alleged to have been caused by the abuse and neglect of her parents is horrific. Our deepest sympathies go out to all who have been impacted by this crime. As always, our focus is on providing our students with a safe learning environment and the academic and developmental support they need to be successful students at Pacific Coast Academy and beyond. Pacific Coast Academy has and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement during the course of its investigation and the ongoing criminal prosecution. Given the pending criminal prosecution, the civil litigation, and other privacy concerns we are not able to make any further comment at the present time.”
Claims against the adoptive family
The lawsuit also alleges the adoptive family is liable for assault and battery and the intentional infliction of emotional distress. It names Leticia McCormack, Stanley Tom, Adella Tom, and the estate of Brian McCormack.
NBC 7 Investigates reached out to the attorneys representing each of the family members for comment. We haven’t heard back.
What’s next in the criminal case
Leticia and Stanley each face a murder charge, three counts of torture and three counts of child abuse. Adella faces the same torture and child abuse charges but is not charged with murder.
Prosecutors said Adella doesn’t face a murder charge because she fell ill during the final few weeks of Arabella’s life, when the little girl’s health was declining rapidly. Because of that illness, Pro said, Adella wasn’t present during those fateful days.
All three suspects have pleaded not guilty. They are scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing in August, where a judge will decide if there’s enough evidence to proceed with a trial for the charges they’re facing.
One person not facing prison time is Arabella’s adoptive father, Brian McCormack. Prosecutors said he would have been charged if he were alive. Deputies said he shot himself inside his truck, just a few hundred feet away from his home, the same day Arabella died.
