Orangeburg County deputies responded to a home in Bowman, South Carolina, and found a 12-year-old girl who weighed 47 pounds, limped due to her condition, and had frail bones, according to an arrest warrant. Her mother, 43-year-old Chiquitta Dawkins, has been charged with unlawful conduct toward a child. Sheriff Leroy Ravenell described the case bluntly, saying leaving a child to become “this sick, this malnourished is the utmost in despicable.”
The investigation also revealed that there were no education records for the girl after kindergarten, raising difficult questions about how a child can go years without a school, a doctor’s visit, or another routine checkpoint flagging a concern. Those checkpoints exist for a reason, and when a child falls outside all of them, the people around the family become the safety net.
While the case is unfolding in South Carolina, the lesson carries to the Suncoast. Florida’s abuse hotline operates 24/7 at 1-800-962-2873, and reports can be made anonymously. If a child in your neighborhood, classroom, or family seems unwell, hungry, or simply unseen, that call is worth making.
What would you want a neighbor to do if they were worried about a child in your community? Let us know on our Facebook page.
