FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — Warning: This story contains depictions of child abuse.
A tort has been filed against three child protection agencies in Washington, claiming they were aware of the parents’ abuse before their 5-year-old child was tortured to death.
The claim, seeking $50 million in damages, was filed against the Department of Children, Youth and Family Services (DCYF), Child Protective Services (CPS), and the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).
“The abuse of [the child] was known by various state employees and agencies... The State of Washington repeatedly failed to investigate and monitor [the child] while she was in the custody of her biological father, Woo Jin Hahn. CPS/DSHS/DCYF was aware of severe physical abuse which was taking place in the Hahn household yet failed to intervene. [The child] was subsequently tortured and beaten to death by her father as direct and proximate result of the gross negligence of DCYF and CPS,” the tort said.
At the end of May, 29-year-old Hahn was arrested and booked into jail when his 5-year-old daughter was found unresponsive inside his home.
The child died from her injuries at the hospital.
When responding to the initial call at the apartment, an officer noticed that the girl had “several large bruises with lacerations on [the child’s] forehead” and what looked like old bruises on her right armpit area.
Efforts were continued to save her life, but she later succumbed to her injuries at Harborview Medical Center.
On Sept. 1, the child’s cause of death was determined to be “circulatory collapse in the setting of dehydration and multiple blunt force injuries,” according to the medical examiner’s office. Her manner of death was homicide.
At the scene, Hahn allegedly told officers that he had caused the bruises on her face from disciplining her as early as the night before, according to court documents.
He allegedly hit her with a metal cup, and would typically discipline her by hitting her with a cup or stick, court documents said.
Hahn’s girlfriend, who lived in the apartment, told officers that she had witnessed him hitting the child in the past and had previously pushed her against a wall and punched her in the stomach.
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According to court documents, he said he did this as a punishment because the child defecated outside of her toilet.
He allegedly told police that he “snapped” when the child had food poisoning and knocked over her portable child potty, accidentally knocking it over and spilling its contents, according to court documents.
“Hahn added that he backed up the potty toilet to the bathroom door and tied SJH’s hands above her head using a rope that led from her hands to a pull-up bar that was on the door so she couldn’t reach down and pick up her own fecal matter. Hahn also said [her] feet were tied to the toilet using a towel. Hahn said SJH remained in this position on the toilet tied up for upwards of three hours,” court documents detailed.
According to court documents, Hahn stated that he “was the reason [child] was in the condition that she was in and she probably ‘succumbed to the injuries’ that he caused.”
This wasn’t the first time officials have been made aware of Hahn’s alleged abuse.
According to the tort, the three agencies were aware of the pattern of abuse before the child died.
Hahn’s live-in girlfriend, Cierra Fisher, has also been arrested and booked for allegedly abusing the children.
In one set of court docs, an investigator said, “I obtained documentation of prior Child Protective Services (CPS) referrals regarding suspected abuse of children” at the home by Hahn and Fisher.
Docs said Fisher participated in and didn’t report the abuse allegedly perpetrated by Hahn.
When she was initially arrested, she told officers that she was in “complete control” of disciplining and “will not allow any extreme punishment to take place,” according to docs.
The tort says that at various points in the last three years, teachers and family members reported bruises and welts on all the children, and police conducted a welfare check a handful of times.
When the parents were arrested, the other three children were checked out by medical professionals. Docs said they all showed signs of abuse and had wounds in various stages of healing.
The estate of Hahn, likely being a representative of the child who died, is seeking $50 million in damages, but that may be subject to change.
“The exact amount of damages are unknown at this time. In this case, a child was tortured on a prolonged basis. DCYF/CPS was made aware of child abuse and neglect occurring within the same household by the same perpetrator but failed to intervene, resulting in [the child’s] death. In a similar case, a jury in Pierce County awarded $115,ooo,ooo to the estate of two children for the negligence of DCYF that resulted in their murders by their father,” the tort said.
KIRO 7 reached out to DCYF for comment, and they told us, “We cannot comment on active litigation.”
DSHS notes that DCYF was formed in 2018 (after the victim was born), and is not a part of DSHS. However, DSHS is named with CPS and DCYF in the tort.
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