Massachusetts court reverses ruling to send 8-year-old girl to her alleged rapist father in Guatemala

The state Department of Children and Families had been getting ready to bring the girl to Guatemala following the initial Massachusetts Juvenile Court ruling — which ordered DCF to give custody of the child to her biological father. The judge had ruled that the father was “fit” to parent her.

But the girl’s foster parents in New Bedford fought back, suing DCF in federal court where they argued that removing the girl violates her U.S. citizen constitutional rights.

The foster parents claimed that DCF was failing the girl by placing her with a biological parent who reportedly raped her mother, and who was twice deported from the U.S.

Last week, the attorney for the foster parents in court provided new information about the biological father’s criminal history.

The father, Esvin Cabrera, had been arraigned in Boston on charges that include: assault and battery, assault with a dangerous weapon involving a police officer, trafficking cocaine, possession with intent to distribute a Class B substance, furnishing false identification at arrest, and more.

After the foster parents’ lawyer revealed the new details about Cabrera’s criminal history, the Juvenile Court tossed its custody ruling that would have sent the girl to Cabrera in Guatemala.

“We’re elated that this little girl will be able to stay in the United States,” attorney Kirsten Zwicker, who filed the federal case against DCF, told the Herald. “We’re very pleased to see the Juvenile Court judge did the right thing when that information about the father’s extensive and serious criminal record came to light.”

Zwicker added about the foster parents: “They are absolutely elated… elated to the point of tears, now that they’re assured she will remain here.”

A DCF spokesperson in a statement to the Herald said the department “cannot comment on matters related to pending litigation.”

The 8-year-old girl’s biological mother, Alexsa Ramirez, was 15 years old when she was statutory raped by Cabrera who was 29, according to the lawyer.

Shortly after the girl was born, Cabrera was deported to Guatemala when his work visa expired. Cabrera was never prosecuted for the rape of Ramirez.

Then, when the girl was 4 years old, she was removed from her mother’s care due to Ramirez’ ongoing mental health and substance abuse history. Ramirez’ parental rights were officially terminated a couple years later.

Meanwhile, Cabrera returned to Massachusetts from Guatemala, but he did not contact DCF for several months, according to the lawyers for the foster parents. Cabrera did not try to become involved in the girl’s life for at least four months.

After the girl was removed from her mother’s care, she entered the DCF foster care system before she moved in with the foster parents in early 2022. The foster parents — John and Catherine Cobbett-Walden — later became licensed as adoptive parents.

At the same time, her biological father Cabrera began supervised visits with the girl. Then in May of 2024, DCF changed the permanency plan with the child’s foster parents from pre-adoption to placement with Cabrera.

The girl and her biological father began to have unsupervised visits for a few months in 2024. That ended in October of 2024 when Cabrera was detained by ICE and deported.

Cabrera has not seen the girl in-person since — which was about 15 months ago.

Then last year, the girl was the subject of a “care and protection” custody proceeding in Massachusetts Juvenile Court. The Juvenile Court ordered DCF to give custody of the child to Cabrera in Guatemala after concluding that he was “fit” to parent her.

The foster parents’ attorney in the court filing last week noted that DCF “should have been aware of discrepancies in Intervenor’s (father’s) criminal history as early as July 2024, when background checks revealed arrests under different names.”

“Despite these discrepancies, it does not appear that DCF resolved questions concerning Intervenor’s identity, obtained complete criminal records from the courts involved,” the lawyer wrote in court. “It appears that DCF relied on Intervenor’s denials of criminal conduct. It is unclear whether, during the pendency of its ‘reunification’ planning, DCF obtained or reviewed a valid passport, driver’s license, or other government-issued identification confirming Intervenor’s identity.”

A GoFundMe page launched last month for the foster parents’ legal battle has raised more than $40,000.

“Because of the federal appeal our legal team filed and the media attention generated by this community, the Massachusetts Juvenile Court has officially vacated its order that would have sent S.R.C., an 8-year-old U.S. citizen in foster care, to Guatemala,” the fundraising page reads. “She was scheduled to be placed on a plane by DCF, a state agency entrusted with the care and protection of our most vulnerable children, to Guatemala—in direct violation of her constitutional rights. Thanks to your support, that will not happen!”