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NEW YORK (AP) - The number of child abuse complaints referred to police by social workers has soared since the highly publicized torture-slaying of a 7-year-old girl, threatening to overwhelm investigators, the head of the police department says.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the surge comes from heightened vigilance following the deaths of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown and several other children who had been monitored by the city's Administration for Children's Services.
Prosecutors said Nixzmary was bound, tortured and beaten to death by her stepfather, although ACS workers had been investigating reports that she had been missing school and had severe bruises.
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