Timing of Doctor’s Report in Dispute

Police, social service workers and the doctor who examined a severely abused 10-year-old boy gave conflicting reports Friday of how quickly the physician, Dr. Annette C. Bernhut, recognized and told authorities of critical injuries that could have killed the child.

The timing of Bernhut’s report is critical to the case because doctors told police that the child could have died if he were brought to the hospital 30 minutes later, according to Lt. Timm Browne of the Orange Police Department.

The child, whose tongue was seared with hot knives and who was anally penetrated with a souvenir baseball bat, remained hospitalized Friday. His internal injuries were so severe that doctors surgically implanted a colostomy bag on his abdomen last week.

His aunt, Cynthia Medina, 31, has been charged with one count of torture and four felony counts of child abuse.

Police contend that Bernhut waited five hours before notifying the Orange County Child Abuse Registry Sept. 8 that the boy had suffered the critical injuries, an assertion Bernhut denied Friday.

Bernhut examined the child between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Sept. 8--the day after he was allegedly assaulted--but the doctor did not make her report until 4:30 p.m., Browne said.

But Bob Griffith, deputy director for the Orange County Social Services Agency, said Friday the doctor had faxed the child-abuse report to the Child Abuse Registry at 2:20 p.m., more than two hours earlier than police say it arrived.

Bernhut, an osteopathic physician who operates a family practice at 1005 E. Chapman Ave., in Orange, declined to answer questions but issued a statement late Friday that she suspected child abuse after examining the boy and immediately reported it.

“Because of patient confidentiality, I cannot provide you with more specific information other than the case was reported immediately,” said Bernhut. “I don’t know what happened after that.”

“I care very much about children and in particular this issue. That is why I am a physician,” she said, adding that she is cooperating with authorities.

Griffith said the state Welfare and Institutions Code requires doctors and anyone else in professional contact with children to report any suspicion of child abuse to authorities “immediately,” without specifying what that means.

“The rule of thumb we use is 24 hours,” he said. “If it is later than 24 hours, we definitely have a problem with it. Otherwise it depends on the circumstances of each case.”

Griffith said he is more alarmed that Bernhut apparently did not ascertain the seriousness of the child’s physical condition when she examined him. He said “the actual injuries were much more severe than the ones described in the report” that Bernhut sent to the registry, although they were still disturbing enough to warrant an investigation.

“At whatever time the doctor examined the child, she should have been able to better identify the severity of his injuries, “ Griffith said. “If at 4:30 p.m. he needed emergency hospitalization, what were the extent of his injuries at 11 a.m.?”

Griffith said it is unclear exactly how much time elapsed before the social worker went to the child’s apartment, but it is certain that she saved his life by acting almost immediately.

Anyone who suspects a child is in imminent danger should call the police--not the Child Abuse Registry--by dialing 911, Griffith said.