A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the estate of Geanna Bradley against four adults living in the Wahiawa house where the 10-year-old girl was found dead from years of abuse and starvation, and against the state of Hawaii, including the Department of Human Services and its employees.
The civil complaint alleges DHS social worker Deborah Yoshizumi downplayed the allegations of abuse made in 2015 by Bradley’s biological father, Gerime Bradley, against Thomas Blas Sr. and Brandy Blas, shortly after Geanna Bradley had been placed by DHS, specifically by Yoshizumi, into their foster care.
Although Yoshizumi is not a named defendant in Cummings v. Blas et al., the lawsuit details her alleged involvement.
The father related to Yoshizumi in 2015 that his daughter, then about 3 years old, told him that the Blases were beating her, mostly for toileting issues, according to the complaint filed March 11 in the Oahu Circuit Court by Nicole Cummings, the appointed personal representative of Bradley’s estate.
“Yoshizumi downplayed the allegations, reassured G.M.B.’s father that the Blases were known to Yoshizumi, dissuaded G.M.B.’s father from making a formal report, and never logged or otherwise documented what was happening to G.M.B.,” the complaint says.
Randall Rosenberg, an attorney for Cummings, said the reason the Child Welfare Services’ social worker was not named as a defendant was because a judge in another case dismissed the individual state employee because it was “duplicative” of naming the state of Hawaii as a defendant.
“We are doing more research and may name her as a defendant later,” he said.
Yoshizumi did not respond to calls for comment from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
The Blases and Debra Geron and William Geron Sr., the parents of Brandy Blas, are named defendants in the civil complaint.
The Blases and Debra Geron were indicted Feb. 14, 2024, on charges of second- degree murder, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and conspiracy to commit unlawful imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a child, hindering prosecution and persistent nonsupport, related to Bradley and an adopted boy also living in the home.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
William Geron is expected to be called as a witness, and has maintained his silence on the matter.
Trial in the criminal case is set for Sept. 8.
The complaint alleges DHS should have known Thomas Blas Sr. had a criminal history, including felony convictions in 2010 and 2005 for unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle and a 2005 felony assault.
It also alleges DHS should have known the Blases and the Gerons were ineligible as caregivers because they had substantial debt and were the subject of collection efforts during the periods DHS placed Bradley in their care.
The Blases received $1,961 a month from the state for Bradley’s care, the complaint says.
The complaint says the misconduct of DHS amounts to breaching its duties, obligations and responsibilities to the child, and alleges DHS was negligent, grossly negligent and acted recklessly, with disregard for her rights and safety, and caused or contributed to her pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and wrongful death.
DHS declined to respond to the allegations, following its policy not to comment on ongoing litigation, and would not say whether Yoshizumi remains employed with DHS.
Sometime in late 2016 or in 2017, Gerime Bradley voluntarily terminated his parental rights based on the understanding Geanna Bradley would be adopted by her paternal aunt in Houston.
Bradley was relocated to Texas in 2017, but “for reasons that are not yet clear,” she was brought back to Hawaii in October 2017, after a few months in Texas, and returned to the Blases’ foster care, the complaint says.
The Blases were awarded legal guardianship of Bradley in 2018. Then in 2022, when she was about 9 years old, they removed her from school “under the guise she was to be home-schooled,” the lawsuit says.
The complaint mirrors the indictment’s allegations, that the 10-year-old was found Jan. 10, 2024, at 33 Karsten Drive, duct-taped around her eyes and torso so that her arms were strapped to her sides, starved, significantly injured and bruised. A portion of her nose was missing, with no sign she was ever given medical treatment for it.
Bradley slept in a small box and was forced to use a bucket for a toilet, as evidenced by text messages between Brandy Blas and her mother, police said.
The Medical Examiner’s Office found she died of blunt force injuries caused by assault, starvation, prolonged immobilization and physical restraint, medical neglect and pneumonia.
