A heartbreaking story emerged earlier this week about Donald Crystalus, a local father who is being charged with neglecting and murdering his 4-month-old son. The tragedy has drawn attention to the issue of child abuse once again as our community faces an alarming uptick of abuse-related deaths, especially in the past few weeks.

Our public relations team arranged an opportunity for Carmella Prescott, clinical supervisor and licensed mental health counselor at Daniel, to appear on WJXT4: The Local Station and explain the gravity of this upsetting trend. Prescott also discussed child abuse prevention methods, warning signs and ways to help if someone suspects a child is being abused.

Daniel is a nonprofit that helps nearly 2,000 local abused, abandoned and neglected children every day. The organization offers mental health, social services and educational programs aimed at enhancing the lives of children and families in our community.

Watch the full segment here:

News4Jax.com Nov 15, 2014