The horrific abuse suffered by 5-year-old Talia Williams, who died after repeated beatings by her father and stepmother, has thrown a harsh light on a painful subject many people would rather avoid.

But experts in the prevention and treatment of child abuse say it’s crucial not to turn the other way when a youngster is being mistreated.

"If you think a child is being abused and you report it once and nothing is done, report it again," said Aileen Deese, executive director of Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii, a nonprofit. "Call a different agency. Call the police. Tell someone. I think everyone should do something. I know in Hawaii we tend not to want to get involved, but we should get involved."

Lisa Groulx, executive director of PARENTS Inc., which works to prevent and treat child abuse, agrees on the need for action.She emphasized that suspected abuse can be reported anonymously to the child abuse hotline.

"It’s really important to call the abuse hotline and report so someone can investigate," she said. "You don’t have to give your name. Maybe we could have saved her life. This didn’t just happen over a week. It was a serious amount of time that this went on."

She added, "Sometimes our system isn’t perfect. It is important that people continue to call. The more times someone calls and reports, especially if it’s more than one person calling, it does lend a little more credibility."

Talia’s father, former Schofield Barracks soldier Naeem Williams, is facing the death penalty under federal law if convicted of capital murder in U.S. District Court for the death of his daughter in 2005. The federal government is prosecuting the case because Williams was in the Army at the time and the abuse took place in military housing.

Talia had developmental delays, and her father and stepmother were incensed by her toilet accidents. Her father is accused of frequently whipping her with a belt and striking the fatal blows.

Delilah Williams already has pleaded guilty to causing Talia’s death and could face 20 years to life in prison. She testified at her husband’s trial that she stomped on the girl, punched her and slammed her head against the wall.

"Everyone in the community is appalled when hearing the details of what happened," Deese said. "It’s much worse than we even knew.

"We’re coming from the prevention side," she said. "We wish that we could reach parents before they are so stressed out, before they reach this point, before they even think of hitting their child.

"Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii and our many partners in prevention have many tips and information on how to strengthen families and how to keep kids safe, not only during April, which is Child Abuse Prevention month, but all year long."

In Talia’s case a neighbor did call authorities after hearing yelling and screaming, but Naeem Williams convinced military police officers who came to investigate that Talia had been hurt in a fall and that another child had scratched her. He also told a sergeant who visited his home that his daughter had a black eye because another child punched her at a birthday party, according to testimony in the case.

In the last fiscal year, 1,361 reports of child abuse and neglect were confirmed in Hawaii, five of them fatal, according to the Department of Human Services Databook 2014. More than two-thirds of the cases, or 68 percent, involved threatened harm. Thirteen percent were neglect cases, 11 percent involved physical abuse and 5 percent, sexual abuse. The remaining 2 percent were medical neglect or psychological abuse.

The state Department of Human Services was not involved in the Williams case, which took place on base.

People hesitate to report suspected child abuse for many reasons. Some are afraid, or they think it’s not their business or they don’t know whether the conduct is severe enough to qualify as abuse, Groulx said.

"We’ve all heard kids crying in the neighborhood," Groulx said. "Is this abuse, or is it just the kid having a screaming fit? People don’t know when to call."

She said that if one isn’t sure of the situation, getting to know the family can help determine what is going on and whether the child is being harmed. Neighbors can also offer support, lending a hand to overwhelmed parents.

"The first things I would do is knock on the door and introduce myself and get to know that family," Groulx said.

PARENTS Inc. offers parenting classes, not just for at-risk families, that give people guidance on child growth and milestones, and appropriate responses to behavior.

"A lot of times people abuse because they expect more out of the child than a child is capable of," Groulx said. "We teach about child development and what you can expect. We talk about proper discipline. Most times parents spank out of anger. Take time out as a parent. Calm down, then discipline your child."

Spanking a child for wetting the bed isn’t going to stop the behavior, she said. It simply instills fear. Instead, she advised encouraging the right behavior.

"When she doesn’t wet the bed, you want to praise her and make her feel really good about the fact that she didn’t wet the bed," Groulx said. "That’s going to make her not want to wet the bed, because she’s getting love and praise."

A former court reporter, Groulx heard her share of painful cases before shifting into her current role, in which she can share her passion for parenting and help guide families onto a healthy, safe path.

"You’ve always got to focus on the child," Groulx said. "They have no one advocating for them. They have no power or authority to do anything or to say anything or to walk out. They are just defenseless. And it’s our job to make sure that we’re protecting them.

"I would encourage people to get involved rather than not doing anything at all. You never know whether it is going to be life or death."