Case study danielle

Once Danielle was safe, Tracy Sheehan—an attorney who has since become a circuit court judge—was appointed as her legal advocate. Judge Sheehan became Danielle's voice in the courtroom. In all her years in public service, Judge Sheehan says she's never seen anything like Danielle's case.

Neighbors knew a woman lived with her boyfriend and two sons in a house on their street but said they had never seen Danielle. Then, one day, a neighbor told authorities that she saw a little girl lift a dirty blanket and peer out of a broken window.

At the time, Judge Sheehan says the allegation was that 4-year-old Danielle was being left with inappropriate caretakers while her mother was out of the house. "Our social service agency responded to the home, and the reports indicated that the child was sleeping on one occasion," she says.

After Danielle's story broke, documents surfaced that showed Florida's Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) had received previous complaints about Danielle's mother. Child advocates made two visits to the home in 2002—three years prior to her rescue—but they rated Danielle's risk as "low" and left her in her mother's care.