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At Funeral For Abused 4-Year-Old, Sharpton Blames City For Lack Of Oversight
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Jan 22, 2014
Modified Oct 12, 2017
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Jan 22, 2014
Modified Oct 12, 2017
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Hundreds of mourners gathered in Harlem yesterday for the funeral of 4-year-old Myls Dobson, who was allegedly tortured and abused by his caretaker before tragically passing away in a Midtown apartment earlier this month. Reverend Al Sharpton delivered Myls' eulogy, placing the blame for Myls' death on the child welfare agency responsible for overseeing his case. "Somebody in [the Administration of Child Services] needs to be held accountable for this," he said. "This is not about his mom or his father, this is about how the city protects a 4-year-old child."
Ashlee Dobson, Myls' mother who lost custody over the toddler in 2011 after court officials deemed her an unfit caretaker, was present at the funeral at First Corinthian Baptist Church; Okee Wade, Myls' father, was also present, after having been granted temporary release from a New Jersey county jail.
Wade has been locked up since December 19th; just prior to arrest, he left Myls with transgender performer Kryzie King, who allegedly starved the boy and beat him until he fell off a bathroom ledge and died on January 8th. ACS has been criticized for failing to check up on Wade, who has been in and out of jail since getting custody of Myls; at a press conference last week, Mayor de Blasio called for the agency to tighten up policy holes that may have contributed to Myls's death, though he did not blame ACS specifically.
Wade allegedly had a history of leaving his son in the care of girlfriends—Isaac Holmes, the brother of one of Wade's girlfriends, told reporters Wade had been crashing with them on and off for two years, and never had a permanent residence. "He’d leave the kid somewhere so he’d always have a place to come back to—so he could get the (welfare) checks,” Holmes told the Daily News. “He never had any job, he would just lay up in here all day long. He was hiding. There are cats looking for him."
King has been charged with assault; meanwhile, state legislators have introduced a new bill, Myls Law, that would require law enforcement officials to notify ACS when a primary caretaker is arrested. "His life stands for something now," community activist Tony Herbert announced at yesterday's funeral. "This child left a mark on our city in a positive way.”
Tagged
al sharpton
ashlee dobson
child abuse
kryzie king
myls dobson
okee wade
Rebecca Fishbein
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