Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department – Major Crimes Division have arrested and charged Iris Hernandez Rivas, age 20, of the 400 block of Sunny Brook Terrace in Gaithersburg, with child abuse of her four-year-old daughter.
On Thursday, January 26 at approximately 12:28 p.m., the Emergency Communications Center (ECC) received a 911 call from Hernandez Rivas who requested medical assistance for her unresponsive four-year-old daughter. Sixth District officers, officers from the Gaithersburg City Police Department, and Fire and Rescue personnel responded to the apartment.
Hernandez Rivas told responding officers that her daughter had entered the bathroom at approximately 11:15 a.m. and started the shower. After approximately 15 to 20 minutes had passed, Hernandez Rivas heard a noise from the bathroom which prompted her to check on her child. When Hernandez Rivas entered the bathroom, she stated that she observed her daughter face down in the bathtub. Hernandez Rivas said she waited approximately one hour before calling 9-1-1.
Fire and Rescue personnel transported the victim to Adventist Healthcare Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville in serious condition. Major Crimes detectives responded to the hospital where medical staff informed them that the victim had multiple bruises on her body and was suffering from head trauma that may have been from the result of physical abuse. The victim was flown by helicopter to Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where she remains in critical condition.
On January 27, investigators from the Major Crimes Division spoke with Hernandez Rivas. She stated that at approximately 10:30 a.m. on the previous morning, she had kicked the victim in the abdomen after becoming angry at the victim for not brushing her teeth. Hernandez Rivas stated that as a result of being kicked, the victim fell backwards and struck her head on the living room wall. Hernandez Rivas reported that her daughter fell to the ground and appeared lethargic. The daughter then went to the bathroom and turned on the shower. Hernandez Rivas said that she went to check on the victim and found her face down in the bath tub. Hernandez Rivas also told detectives that the bruises on multiple areas of the victim’s body were due to Hernandez Rivas striking her daughter with a belt several days prior.
Hernandez Rivas was arrested on January 28 and charged with one count of first-degree child abuse and one count of first-degree assault. Hernandez Rivas is currently being held without bond.
