The mother of Jahmeik Modlin, a malnourished 4-year-old boy who weighed just 19 pounds when he died last week in their Harlem apartment, pointed the finger at city agencies she says ignored her cries for help.
Through relatives and a family counselor, Nytavia Ragsdale, 26, said she contacted social workers from the city’s Children’s Services Administration, and no one helped her, Jahmeik or her three emaciated young daughters.
“No one answered her cry for help,” said the Rev. Kevin McCall, who said he spoke with Ragsdale at Rikers Island, where the mother is being held without bail on charges of manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child.
“They did not go out of their way to help Nytavia,” said McCall, who was joined by Ragsdale’s family members at a news conference Monday outside the ACS building on Bedford Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
Family members said they saw the children during FaceTime calls, but the phone only showed them from the chest up.
“We’re still processing this,” said Ragsdale’s sister, Dianna Kerlegrand. “The family was not aware of the circumstances within the household. We stand firmly with Nytavia Ragsdale and we are committed to seeking justice for her, Jahmeik and his siblings.”
The boy’s father, Laron Modlin, has also been arrested and faces similar charges.
An attorney for Modlin and a representative for ACS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
ACS had previously visited the home to investigate concerns about malnutrition, but investigators were unable to substantiate the claim, a law enforcement source said.
The child’s death prompted a preliminary investigation by the city Department of Investigation into ACS’s handling of the child’s case, which could lead to a full investigation, a spokesperson told the Daily News.
Ragsdale’s family said she struggled with mental health issues. An attorney for Modlin said he also suffers from mental health issues
Police were called to the family’s apartment on October 13 at Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. near W. 145th St.
When officers arrived, Ragsdale was already outside with her son and told officers he was unconscious.
Medics rushed the boy to Harlem Hospital, where he died.
Prosecutors said the apartment where the boy fell unconscious as his skinny siblings, ages 5, 6 and 7, watched, was stocked with food — but the cabinets were secured with child locks and the refrigerator was turned toward a wall so doors opened could. could not be opened easily.
The other children were hospitalized and hooked up to IVs because they could not eat solid food.
The boy had been starving for years and was so desperate for food that he ate his own vomit, prosecutors said.
Malnutrition was not the only form of abuse and neglect, authorities said. A bedroom in the back of the apartment was covered in human feces, and prosecutors said Jahmeik had feces matted into his hair.
