California State Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula has been charged with willful cruelty to a child, according to the Fresno Police Department.
“During the course of that investigation, we determined that the child was in fact injured,” said Dyer. “[We] determined that the person responsible for that injury was Joaquin Arambula.”
Police then made contact with Arambula’s wife, and she soon arrived at the school. Arambula subsequently came to the school as well, accompanied by an attorney.
“Officers attempted to interview him (Arambula). His attorney gave him advice not to provide a statement to the police. Then he did not,” said Dyer.
“Based on the investigation and the evidence that we have at this time, including the interview with the child, Joaquin Arambula was in fact arrested for a misdemeanor, and he was transported to headquarters,” he said.
Arambula was then processed and issued a citation to appear in court on March 13.
Dyer said the school has a mandate to report any kind of injury to a child. However, Dyer was unable to provide further details about how the injury occurred.
“Any time there’s a juvenile involved in any of these types of cases, they have a lot of privileges and protections,” said Dyer. “What we do know is that the incident did occur the evening before at about 8:30 in the evening, and so this was a delayed reporting.”
Dyer said the child was removed from that environment, and no other children were believed to be in danger at that time.
The Democratic lawmaker said the couple’s three daughters, who are aged 7, 6, and 3, were taken from the home by Child Protective Services for two days before being returned.
Arambula said he had spanked his 7-year-old daughter on Sunday night, and she was upset.
“It’s what parents have to be able to do, to have some ground rules to be good parents,” said Arambula, according to Action News.
“She was angry, she was really angry that he spanked her. She woke up angry, and she went to school angry and wanted to be heard,” added Elizabeth.
School administrators on Monday reportedly called CPS when they noticed the student was injured. The girl said her dad had hurt her.
The Arambulas said the incident was a learning experience.
“I’m hopeful that this moment will allow us to reconnect and really bond with our daughter and figure out how to talk with her and connect with her, and let her know that she’s both loved and heard and respected,” said Arambula. “We’re just trying the best we can, like every parent.”
Chief Dyer said the case will continue to move forward.
“We’re going to investigate this case as we would investigate any others. We’re going to get to the truth of the matter, and we’re working with the district attorney’s office with the intent to pursue prosecution of this case,” said police chief Dyer.
“California State Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, should ask for Joaquin Arambula’s resignation due to the egregious nature of these charges,” said chairman Fred Vanderhoof.
