The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office inmate booking system listed Alejandra Segundo Cruz in custody after an April 30 arrest by the Florida Highway Patrol. The booking record listed charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and neglect of a child causing great bodily harm, with bond amounts set at $150,000 and $10,000, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
Florida recorded 242,510 total referrals for child abuse and neglect in 2022, with 138,711 screened in for response by child protective services. That year, the state confirmed 24,505 child victims of abuse or neglect, a rate of 5.7 children per 1,000, and neglect accounted for more than 71 percent of maltreatment cases, according to the Child Welfare League of America.
Nationally, an estimated 532,228 children were victims of abuse and neglect in 2024, or about seven children out of every 1,000. Neglect accounted for 79 percent of cases, and an estimated 1,773 children died from abuse and neglect nationwide, according to the National Children’s Alliance.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office was created in 1912 after voters approved its establishment and operates the Pinellas County Jail, court security, and countywide law enforcement duties. The agency is the 15th largest sheriff’s office in the United States and serves as the primary law enforcement provider for more than 40 percent of Pinellas County’s population, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.