3 family members charged with child abuse

TACOMA -- The Pierce County Sheriff's Office arrested three family members in connection with a case of alleged child abuse of a 9-year-old boy. The suspects arrested include the boy's mother, grandmother and grandfather.

Charges of second-degree assault of a child have been filed against the boy's mother, Maria Lynn Isler, 31, his grandmother, Rosa Colleen Isler, 58, and grandfather, 61-year-old Robert Michael Isler. The boy's mother also faces charges of second-degree domestic violence.

On Thursday, detectives served a search warrant on a home located in the 5200 block of 131st Street Court East in Tacoma. Authorities had been alerted about the boy's welfare by Child Protective Services on June 25.

When CPS caseworkers removed the boy from the home, they noticed a number of bruises on his face and he appeared to be malnourished. After the boy underwent a medical examination it was determined he had a broken collarbone and weighed only 45 pounds.

The 9-year-old told caseworkers that he lived in the home with his mother, grandmother, grandfather and an aunt. He said he did not go to school "because he told somebody that he gets beat at home, so now he can't go to school." He also told caseworkers that family members would hit him with pieces of wood, spatulas and hangers. He said his collarbone was broken when he "stole food because he was hungry" and his grandfather threw him off the porch when he saw him eating oatmeal.

After he was thrown from the porch, the boy said that he landed on his shoulder and saw that his collarbone was broken. He was given ice for the injury but was not taken to a doctor and complained that he was "very sore."

Court documents state that the grandfather admitted to "dropping" the boy off the porch and that he did not think they were feeding him enough food. The boy's mother also admitted to authorities that she had hit her son.