Charges filed against sheriff's captain for alleged child abuse
Charges filed against sheriff's captain for alleged child abuse
November 4, 2008
LAKE ELSINORE – Misdemeanor charge abuse charges have been filed against a sheriff's captain and his wife, a community service officer for the sheriff's department, for alleged mistreatment of her adopted teenage daughter, court papers show Tuesday.
David Nordstrom, 58, and his wife, Christine, 41, both face a misdemeanor charge of abuse/endangering a child. He is additionally charged with failure to report child abuse, and she faces an additional charge of false imprisonment, according to court papers.
According to sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez, David Nordstrom is a 31-year veteran of the department and works at the Robert Presley Detention Center.
Christine Nordstrom has worked the graveyard shift at the sheriff's Lake Elsinore substation, according to court papers.
According to Gutierrez, the couple's attorney was making arrangements with the sheriff's office for them to surrender. They will be cited and released with a court date to appear for arraignment, the sergeant said.
“This is a misdemeanor case and it is common practice for misdemeanor warrants to cite (and) release individuals with a promise to appear in court on a specified date,” he said. “The department takes all allegations of crimes against children seriously and in this case conducted a thorough investigation.”
Christine Nordstrom adopted her 15-year-old daughter when she was 2. Over the years, the woman is accused of repeatedly calling the girl derogatory names, handcuffing her and striking her, according to court papers.
The charges filed Monday stemmed from an anonymous tip, and the Elsinore High School student has since been removed from the couple's home, according to a declaration filed in support of an arrest warrant by sheriff's Investigator Gary Bowen.
The tipster was subsequently identified as Dina Watts, a longtime friend of Christine Nordstrom, according to Bowen's declaration.
Watts alleged that on multiple occasions when she was on the phone with Nordstrom, she heard her calling her daughter names such as “slut,” “bitch” and whore,” and more than once heard the girl pleading with her mother not to handcuff her, according to Bowen.
“Christine admitted that she had just handcuffed Jane Doe and said she was going to leave her there until the end of her work shift,” the declaration states.
Watts said she came forward after she heard the girl threaten to commit suicide while on the phone with her mother, Bowen wrote.
“Dina Watts then heard Christine ask Doe how she wanted to do it and requested she do 'it' at home so she would not be embarrassed if her co-workers found Jane Doe dead on the street somewhere,” his declaration states.
Watts told investigators that she takes suicide threats seriously because of her father's death by his own hand, according to Bowen.
“Watts said she has been friends with Christine for over 20 years and it was difficult for her to make the anonymous call to CPS,” he wrote.
According to the court papers, the girl told investigators that her mother punched her in the mouth with a closed fist in September.
David Nordstrom denied ever seeing his wife abuse the girl, according to court documents.
Patricia Nelson, sister of Christine's ex-husband, alleged that the defendant began calling her daughter a “little bitch” when she was a toddler, and once grabbed the child by the hair, picked her up and carried her about 20 feet, the affidavit states.
According to court papers, a teacher at Elsinore High once noticed a swollen bruise under one of the girl's eyes and was told by the teen that her mother had hit her. The teen also told the educator that her mother had hit her on other occasions, but the teacher did not make a formal report, the court papers state.
According to officials with the Lake Elsinore Unified School District, teachers must report all instances of suspected child abuse.