Thomas Valva death: Grand jury report slams CPS for 'doing nothing' to reveal abuse of autistic boy, 8, by ex-NYPD cop dad

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SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK: A damning new grand jury report reveals that the secretive child protective system concealed the years of abuse suffered by little Thomas Valva, the autistic boy whose ex-NYPD cop dad and stepmom were found guilty of murder in his freezing death.

Restrictive privacy laws in New York kept complaints about the ongoing abuse of the defenseless 8-year-old boy hidden until it was too late, according to a 75-page report approved by Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.

The report found that the claims were considered "unfounded" and private.

Michael Valva and Angela Polina were found guilty

Even after Michael Valva and his wife Angela Polina were found guilty, the county's Department of Social Services' Child Protective Services Division kept the reports confidential, according to Tierney, because the grand jury was investigating all the missed clues related to Thomas and his brother's abuse.

At a press conference on Thursday, April 4, Tierney stated, "These boys had been suffering for far too long, and nothing was done to help them despite 11 different reports to CPS."

“They were made by trained professionals, they were made by mandatory reporters under the law, trained education staff at the elementary school,” he said.

“All of those 11 reports were made prior to the death of that child. No one looking at this can come to any other conclusion other than CPS failed these boys, failed these boys miserably, and as a result, Thomas died,” New York Post reported.

Following the boy's tragic death in 2020, Valva, 44, and Polina, 46, were found guilty of his murder. The boy had been left alone and unprotected in a freezing garage overnight.

According to authorities, Thomas died from hypothermia following a 16-hour exposure to below-freezing temperatures, during which time the temperature dropped below 20 degrees.

Prosecutors claimed that his ten-year-old older brother Anthony had miraculously escaped the same horrific treatment.

Prosecutor called for changes to current system to protect children

The principal of Thomas' school testified at trial that teachers had called CPS numerous times with concerns about the brothers' abuse at home. The prosecution claimed that the exile of the two to the garage was the final step in a pattern of abuse.

Regarding the two boys, Valva once texted Polina, saying, "I will beat them until they bleed. It is the only thing that works.” Both Valva and Polina, who was referred to as a "monster mom" in court, received sentences ranging from 25 years to life in state prison.

The boys were so malnourished, according to school officials, that teachers frequently found them scrounging on the ground for food.

They were also frequently bruised and disheveled. As an emergency worker who battled to save young Thomas testified during the trial, when first responders arrived at the Center Moriches home,  the former police officer showed “no emotion, no sense of concern” for his son.

According to Valva, he discovered his son unconscious following a head injury from hitting a door frame. Tierney called a grand jury investigation into the boy's needless death after being outraged by the case.

The grand jury worked for six months, overcoming obstacles from CPS at every turn.

“The state statute allows these materials to be hidden from public scrutiny, law enforcement and even from a grand jury investigating the death of a child,” the prosecutor said in a statement. “This backwards law must be changed. The system we currently have to protect our children is a recipe for disaster."

“It’s unconscionable that even in a case such as this, no one, not even a district attorney, superior court judge or state advisory board can obtain prior reports that CPS has arbitrarily and erroneously deemed “unfounded,” the statement further remarked.

Grand jury report found maltreatment and child abuse reports filed by teachers

A statement from Tierney, on Thursday, noted the Department of Social Services looks into reports of possible child abuse; however, if the accusations are found to be false, the report “simply disappears.”

“Now with regard to the reports before Thomas’ death, shockingly 10 of those 11 reports about maltreatment and child abuse filed by teachers and staff at East Moriches Elementary School prior to Thomas’ death were classified by Suffolk County CPS as unfounded,” he told reporters.

“This is the key takeaway from this grand jury’s report,” Tierney said. “It means we have no idea why Suffolk County CPS deemed those reports unfounded and we have no idea what, if any, investigative steps that he took,” according to New York Post.

According to Tierney, the grand jury investigation revealed that the agency "effectively thwarted" efforts to obtain the solution.

The report recommended several changes to the law, such as opening up CPS reports on suspected child abuse for grand jury or law enforcement investigations and establishing new guidelines for when investigators can access unfounded findings. 

“The law simply cannot allow these reports to remain hidden, especially where children have been abused, especially where a child has died,” Tierney said. “There has to be accountability.”

Prosecutors said that the panel questioned 27 witnesses regarding Thomas' demise. State CPS representatives haven't responded to the claims so far.