A report released by an independent agency claims the 2017 death of a Perry teen may have been prevented.
A report by the State Office of Ombudsman, an independent and impartial agency that gives the public their right to claim any grievances about government, published a report about apparent communication errors made by the Iowa Department of Human Services that could have prevented the death of 16-year-old Sabrina Ray in 2017.
Before her death, DHS had received 11 child abuse reports from 2010-2015 against her adoptive parents, Marc and Misty Ray. The couple ran an in-home daycare and parented foster children, and had adopted four children. Marc was sentenced to 80 years in prison on several felonies on January 21, 2019 with a chance for parole after 35 years, and his wife Misty was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years, with no chance of parole for their roles in Sabrina’s death.
The Ombudsman report shows none of the 11 abuse reports were founded by DHS staff. The report further shows that a DHS daycare inspector failed to check Sabrina’s bedroom months before her death, where police had discovered several pieces of evidence that led to child endangerment and kidnapping. It was also noted in the report of interviews with some of the DHS workers that they didn’t have the training to recognize signs of malnutrition, which was among the causes of death disclosed in Sabrina’s autopsy.
The report makes 13 recommendations to DHS to improve training, communication, and departmental protocols, with ten of the recommendations accepted. DHS also acknowledged that it would take steps to ensure welfare and child regulatory staff were alerted to allegations of child abuse in the home.
Click the link below to read the full report.