Mother Files Tort Claim Against Hudson County, NJ Alleging Authorities Covered Up Sexual Abuse of Daughter
Ria Aichour claims DCPP ignored evidence, removed her daughter from protective custody to place her with abuser.
By Richard Luthmann
A mother, Houaria (Ria) Aichour, has filed a tort claim against Hudson County, New Jersey, accusing its Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP) of negligence and failure to protect her daughter, M.C, from ongoing sexual abuse. Aichour alleges the DCPP actively covered up the abuse, siding with the biological father, Jimmy Cerveaux, whom her daughter repeatedly named as her abuser.
Aichour, in her tort claim filed on September 6, 2024, outlines a pattern of neglect and systemic failures by county agencies and officials. Her four-year-old daughter, M.C., began disclosing sexual abuse in early 2023, naming her father as the perpetrator in conversations with medical professionals, teachers, and family friends.
However, instead of acting on these disclosures, the DCPP removed M.C. from her mother’s custody and placed her with the abusive father.
"Unmistakable Signs of Abuse"
The first signs of trouble emerged in February 2023, when M.C. began displaying physical and emotional symptoms after unsupervised visits with her father.
Dr. Bandy Lee, a forensic psychiatrist and violence expert who evaluated M.C., described in a letter to the court that the child exhibited "elevated temperatures and complaints of pain and itching in her vagina" following these visits.
M.C. later articulated in "unmistakable terms" that her father had been sexually abusing her, a revelation corroborated by consistent stories to medical providers and school officials. Dr. Lee added that the child’s drawings, which were shown to school officials and doctors, indicated credible and detailed accounts of the abuse.
Despite this, DCPP took the extraordinary step of holding Aichour responsible for failing to inform authorities about the abuse herself. In her letter, Dr. Lee said the court had "threatened [Aichour] with the child’s removal from her custody if she did not cooperate with the father.”
A Child's Desperate Pleas for Help Ignored
Several educators and caretakers reported the troubling disclosures made by Mennel about her father.
On June 15, 2023, Eloise Tromme, a teacher at Tessa International School, wrote in a letter to the court that M.C. had confided in her, saying, "Dad touched my ‘zezette’ (vagina), and I didn’t want to. He asked me to touch his ‘zizi’ (penis), and I didn’t want to."
Tromme passed this information on to her supervisors, who then informed DCPP.
Other educators at the school also expressed concern. Another teacher, Elodie Sylvestre, reported that M.C. had become visibly distressed when learning her father would pick her up from school, describing him as "mean" and saying she didn’t feel safe.
According to Aichour's claim, DCPP workers consistently dismissed these disclosures, and the agency took no meaningful action to protect the child from further harm.
Babysitter Alejandra Salinas also provided testimony detailing similar allegations. She described a conversation in June 2023 when M.C. told her, "My dad touches me here," pointing to her vaginal area. Salinas, who was shocked by the child’s confession, reported the incident to DCPP, but nothing came of it.
Trauma Compounded by DCPP's Failures
Instead of safeguarding M.C., DCPP allegedly intensified the trauma by placing her full-time with her father. According to the tort claim, the agency removed the child from Aichour’s protective home on June 13, 2024, and placed her in her father’s custody. This decision was made despite a wealth of evidence that the father was sexually, physically, and emotionally abusing her.
Aichour’s claim also outlines how DCPP denied that the child had made any disclosures about the abuse. The agency allegedly went so far as to remove the child from medical and educational professionals who were prepared to testify to the abuse. Dr. Lee, in her letter to the court, stated that DCPP’s actions had put the child in "imminent danger" of further harm.
Bruce Denny, a pediatrician and long-term family friend, shared a disturbing interaction he had with the child during a visit. In a sworn certification, Denny recounted how four-year-old M.C. said she was a "bad girl" because she touched her father’s "zizi," a term she used for his genitals. She went on to say that her father made her do it, and his girlfriend also participated in the abuse.
A Mother's Struggle to Protect Her Child
Aichour has been vocal about her concerns from the beginning. She claims that she informed the court and various county agencies multiple times about the abuse, yet her concerns were ignored. Aichour states that DCPP has failed in its duty to protect her daughter, forcing her to spend time with her abuser and ultimately removing her from her mother’s care altogether.
The toll this has taken on both mother and daughter is severe. In her tort claim, Aichour describes suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), acute stress disorder, and panic attacks due to the ongoing situation. Her physical health has also deteriorated, with her POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) worsening, putting her at high risk for stroke and heart attack.
Despite her suffering, Aichour emphasizes that "what I am suffering is nothing compared to what [M.C.] is experiencing.”
Aichour is seeking $935,000 in damages, which includes lost income, medical bills, and legal fees. Her claim underscores the emotional and financial devastation wrought by DCPP’s alleged failure to protect her daughter. Aichour, once a successful businesswoman, states that the ongoing battle with DCPP has made it impossible for her to work.
A Call for Accountability
In filing her tort claim, Aichour hopes to hold the agencies and individuals responsible for her daughter’s continued suffering accountable. Her claim names several DCPP employees, including Wanda Martinez, Fernando Maldonado, and Yessica Ortega, who were involved in mishandling her daughter’s case.
As Aichour's legal battle continues, her primary focus remains on protecting her daughter from further harm. She is not alone in this fight—several medical professionals, educators, and friends have rallied to support her claims, providing testimony and evidence to back her allegations of abuse and systemic failure.
One such group is the Foundation for the Child Victims of the Family Courts and its Executive Director and Founder, Jill Jones Soderman.
“The conduct of the New Jersey Department of Children and Families and the Hudson County authorities is truly abhorrent,” Soderman said. “As a tireless watchdog group, FCVFC will not rest until there is accountability for Ria Aichour, her daughter. and the innumerable victims of systemic family court abuse.”
All eyes are on New Jersey, as the Aichour case may be a watershed moment in exposing systemic family court abuse and designer child trafficking.
This is beyond horrific! I see this everyday where the child is not protected from child sexual abuse and handed over to the father the alleged abuser! Outrage that this goes on in every court in our nation! Sexual abuse of a child is REAL…. For the family court and all the evidence ignored is more child abuse for this child! A lifetime of no repairing this damage. Why are our court systems failing these children? Where is their safety and protection? Why is a beautiful loving mom being punished because of evidence and believing her Child? Far too many children not Protected! I personally have been fighting this crime for 35 years and have dealt with thousands of these cases.. My book tells the story “PROSECUTED BUT NOT SILENCED” (Courtroom Reform For Sexually Abused Children) A must read for for all professionals involved including judges, lawyers, therapist, social workers, medical professionals and the general public! Https;//www.amazon.com/dp/1683507800 by Maralee Mclean
This is another disturbing case where there is a trend of mothers coaching children to make false sexual allegations against fathers to gain custody of their children. This is very clear in that this 4-year-old child repeated verbatim the same story over and over again against a man who has never been accused of anything before. We saw this in the cases of Catherine Kassenoff and Elizabeth Harding Weinstein, two severely mentally ill women who destroyed not only their former spouses but also their children. The "evidence" is always the mother's word. The media is complicit in repeating these stories and never even talking to the fathers in these situations so all we hear is one side. The judges hear both sides and that is why we are "surprised".