Foster mother faces charges of sex abuse

A foster parent in Fall River has been arrested and charged with sexually abusing her 15-year-old foster daughter, the oldest of four children living with the woman and her partner, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Social Services said last night.

Christina Machado, 26, was arrested Wednesday, two weeks after an anonymous call to DSS triggered an investigation, said spokeswoman Denise Monteiro. After Machado received word of the allegations, she volunteered to separate herself from her family, and the child was placed in another home, Monteiro said.DSS immediately began an investigation. The department usually does not investigate a case for more than 10 days, but she said the family's clean record led to a more exhaustive look. "This is a foster home that we've never had any problems with since they've been foster parents since 1996, so the allegations had to be really checked out," Monteiro said. "The other thing is that we're dealing with a really troubled teen who has had some horrible traumas in her past."

Monteiro would not detail the teen's history.

After DSS notified the police and the district attorney's office, as the agency does in every case involving alleged abuse, police decided to make an arrest.

The 15-year-old involved in the case had been living with Machado since November 2002. Another foster child and two birth children also lived in the house.

A Fall River Police Department officer said last night that he did not have details on the allegations.