Concord Foster Parents Arrested On Child Endangerment Charges After Multi-Month Investigation

CONCORD, NH — A couple from Concord is facing charges after a foster child in their care was discovered with injuries in June, according to police and court documents.

Brittany Plaza, 30, of North State Street in Concord, was arrested on two felony counts of second-degree assault and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Also arrested was Raymond Goudreault, 30, of North State Street in Concord, for endangering the welfare of a child and a child abuse reporting violation penalty.

On June 12, police received a letter from the Division of Children, Youth, and Families about allegations of possible abuse involving a girl, 3. The allegations came to light earlier in the month after the girl was dropped off at a daycare center in the city, “covered with bandages” and “bruises on her face.” The previous week, a report said, the girl was not attending the center.

A few days later, the girl was dropped off with what appeared to be new bruises on her face and head in addition to the prior injuries which were healing. A staffer described the injuries as “significant” and believed they came from a “finger or hand marks” on one cheek and on her thighs, with what appeared to be finger marks as if the girl was grabbed “really hard,” a report said.

Photos were also taken of the injuries.

Editor's note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Concord Police Department and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the process for requesting the removal of a name from New Hampshire Patch police reports.

The girl was brought to the police department after being released from Elliot Hospital for treatment. There were at least 19 injuries observed all around the girl’s body, a detective noted, with some that appeared recent and others that appeared to be healing.

The girl was in Goudreault’s care after her mother was convicted on sexual assault and first-degree assault charges. She is currently in the New Hampshire State Prison for Women, serving four to 12 years. The affidavit accused the girl’s father of having “limited involvement in her life after his release from incarceration,” an affidavit stated.

Plaza and Goudreault, the report said, have four other children and she had a degree from Rivier University in early childhood education.

On June 13, a detective interviewed a daycare employee who said they were told the initial injuries to the girl, a bruise on the head reported weeks before, occurred due to a fall in a bathtub, a report said. After that, other injuries seem to be occurring along with absences from the center. During an interview with staff, the girl said “her ‘mom’ hits her in the face, bends her finger back, and spanks her bottom,” which led to them reporting the case, the report said.

On June 27, police executed a search warrant at the Plaza and Goudreault home.

Plaza later also agreed to an interview, a detective wrote, and said the family’s experience with the girl was “not a bad experience.” She claimed the girl had “behavioral challenges,” trouble sleeping, “numerous episodes of falling,” and other issues.

Plaza told the detective the girl was jumping up and down in the bathtub, slipped, and hit her head, an affidavit said. She was accused of adding that the girl was bleeding, and she was trying to take care of her, so she was not focused on exactly where she was hit in the tub. Another injury occurred on a camping trip to Milan, where she fell out of her bunk bed in the family camper, she was accused of saying.

The detective showed Plaza a photo of “patterned bruises” on the girl’s leg, and she said she could have fallen “while we were getting firewood camping” or fallen at the daycare center. When confronted with the fact that the girl’s injuries appeared to be physical abuse, she “stuttered the following answer, ‘I would never … so that … I don’t have any explanation for that’,” the affidavit said.

Plaza said she was the primary caregiver for the children and Goudreault worked two jobs, the report said.

During the search, police seized Plaza’s cellphone and did an extraction review.

The detective noted there were several messages concerning “stressors that were mounting” due to Plaza being home full-time with five children and also being pregnant most of the year. There were also “extensive conversations” with family and friends about “her dislike of” the girl, wanting the girl not to be there, and she would find another way to get the $500 a month in foster placement payments, an affidavit said. She was also accused of referring to the girl as “Satan,” the report said, and saying she bruised “like a peach” and claiming she fell at the daycare center. In another note, Plaza said she retrieved a car seat while the girl was in the bathtub and slipped, the report said, calling the injury “awful.”

One discussion occurred at the same time period when Plaza claimed the family was camping, the detective said. Goudreault was also working, according to records documented by the detective. A cellphone check also tagged her as being on North State Street.

“Just so you’re aware,” Plaza reportedly texted to Goudreault, “daycare believes we are still camping. Had to keep her home. Lucky me.”

The detective also noted more than two dozen live photos on Plaza’s cellphone that showed the girl with various injuries, the affidavit said. On one, the girl appeared lethargic with a bright red cheek on June 9.

The detective also compiled extensive medical reports noting the girl’s injuries from Elliot Hospital.

A warrant was issued for Plaza’s arrest on Nov. 17. She was arrested on Dec. 2 and held on $50,000 cash bail. Goudreault was arrested on Dec. 1. On Wednesday, Plaza entered no plea to the felony charges and not guilty pleas to the child endangerment charges.

A probable cause hearing will be held on Dec. 3.

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