Written by Lee Hermiston
Wednesday’s arrest of the director of the Broadway Neighborhood Center for not reporting allegations of child abuse levied against a teacher at the center may be the first of its kind in Iowa, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Human Services said.
“If it’s not the first time, it’s the first time in many years,” said DHS spokesman Roger Munns, noting employees in the agency’s central office have “quite a few years of experience.”
Sue Freeman-Murdah, 44, director of the Broadway Neighborhood Center, is accused of not reporting allegations of child abuse levied against a teacher in the Head Start Program, which she oversees. Because of her position at the center, Freeman-Murdah is considered a mandatory reporter, meaning she is required by law to report allegations of child abuse. She has worked at the center for more than 10 years.
According to a criminal complaint from Iowa City Police, the lead Head Start teacher informed Freeman-Murdah that the mother of a child enrolled in the program thought her daughter was the victim of a sexual assault. The alleged assailant was thought to be a teacher in the Head Start classroom. Police said the alleged victim was younger than 12.
The mother met with Freeman-Murdah and told her she thought the teacher had inappropriately touched her daughter and that contact raised to the level of abuse, police said. Police said the mother told Freeman-Murdah the child had repeatedly identified the teacher — who is not identified in the criminal complaint — as the perpetrator. The mother also observed injuries to her daughter, police said.
Police said Freeman-Murdah conducted her own investigation and did not contact police or the DHS. Iowa Code requires that health professionals, social workers, school employees, police officers, mental health professionals and employees of a DHS institution report allegations of abuse to a child younger than 12.
Iowa City Police Sgt. Denise Brotherton said the police department only learned about the allegations when the mother came to police on Dec. 21.
In a statement released Thursday, Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County Executive Director Brian Loring said no evidence of child abuse was discovered.
“The health and safety of children has always been, and remains, our top priority,” Loring said in the statement. “We want the community to know that the Department of Human Services investigated and found no evidence of child abuse. We have cooperated fully with law enforcement and the Department of Human Services and will continue to do so. In fairness to all the parties involved, we are avoiding further comments and will let the process run its course.”
Freeman-Murdah was arrested Wednesday afternoon, booked at the Johnson County Jail and released after about 30 minutes. She posted a $500 cash bond.
Freeman-Murdah made an initial appearance in court Thursday morning and entered a plea of not guilty. Judge Deb Minot set a bench trial for March 22. Freeman-Murdah has a right to request a jury trial — which would consist of six jurors — within 10 days. She said she did not know whether she would enter a request.
In addition to a potential sentence of up to 30 days in jail and a $625 fine, Minot warned Freeman-Murdah that her alleged actions could have “collateral consequences” with DHS. Munns said he wasn’t sure what those consequences could entail.
“Since this is so new, we haven’t crossed this particular bridge before,” he said.
Freeman-Murdah declined to comment after her appearance.
Munns said all reports of child abuse — only about half of which come from mandatory reporters — go through a central office in Des Moines. The office is staffed by about 30 child protective workers who determine if the allegation fits the definition of child abuse under Iowa law. Cases that fit that criteria are then directed to local offices stationed in each county. Munns said investigators respond within an hour for emergency situations and within 24 hours for all other reports, 365 days a year.
“This is not an entry-level job,” Munns said. “People who do this work have been around this field for years and are skilled at recognizing abuse and risk factors for future abuse. You want to prevent the child from being abused again. Obviously, the earlier you get a heads up on that, the better.”
The allegations of abuse do not have to be founded for a judge or jury to find Freeman violated the law by not reporting the alleged offense. Brotherton said the child abuse allegations remain under investigation.
Source http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20120203/NEWS01/302030014/DHS-Charges-failure-report-abuse-claims-unheard-of?odyssey=nav%7Chead
CPS corruption hurts and destroys families worldwide. Please use caution posting about CPS here or anyplace on the internet. For your protection, using your full, real name and precise location is not advised. CPS has eyes everywhere and CPS is notorious for taking what people say, twisting it, embellishing on it and then using it against them in CPS "investigations" and at court proceedings.
Showing posts with label sexual assault. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sexual assault. Show all posts
Monday, February 6, 2012
Friday, November 11, 2011
Police: Fugitive who sexually abused foster children arrested
Blog authros note:
What is with these fosters who are so vile? Why didn't someone at CPS or whoever licensed them do a thorough check on these people? They couldn't have really checked into these people because this seems like something too weird to have just started when this man was 40. It makes us sick to think that CPS's failures are why so many children suffer such horrendous abuse simply due to CPS negligence.
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by Naxiely Lopez
McALLEN — A combined effort by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies led to the arrest of a man wanted in connection with the sexual assault of three children who were under his care for more than a year.
Investigators believe Jose Luis Cazares, 40, abused three foster children — all under the age of 10 — while they lived with him and his wife, Belinda, from January 2008 to April 2009, court documents showed. The children were placed in foster care because their mother was deported to Honduras.
Police learned about the alleged abuse only after a second foster family took the children in.
A woman who claimed to be the victims’ half-sister went to police in May and told them the children had made an outcry, records showed. Police did not reveal the woman’s identity.
Investigators took the victims to the Children’s Advocacy Center in Edinburg in June, where they were interviewed separately by professionals. There, the children detailed their lives with the Cazares.
One girl told staff at the center Cazares would take her to his room, where he would sexually assault her or use sex toys to do so, records showed.
The girl told police she pleaded with Cazares to stop, but he wouldn’t.
If she told, he would slap her in the mouth, the child said.
The abuse happened “every day in a while after school,” a probable cause affidavit quotes her saying.
A second girl told staff Cazares would buy something for them if they engaged in sex with him and his wife.
That child detailed an incident during Halloween in which he took her costume off and assaulted her.
A third victim, a boy, did not make an outcry, police said. But his sisters told staff they saw Cazares sexually abusing him.
The children began showing signs of abuse shortly after the second foster family began caring for them in April 2009, the half-sister told police.
The family reached out to Child Protective Services at the time to alert them about the assault, but the family was never contacted by anyone, records showed. They reached out again in 2010 to the children’s physician, but again no one followed up.
By the time police were involved, Cazares and his wife had already relocated.
That’s when the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force got involved. The team comprises officers from various law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Texas Department of Criminal Justice; U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Hidalgo and Starr County sheriff’s offices; and police departments in McAllen, Mission, San Juan and Weslaco.
Officers tracked Cazares down in Prairie Gillette, Wyo., using documentation from Child Protective Services, police said. Investigators contacted the Gillette police and they assisted in questioning the pair.
Both denied the allegations, investigators said.
Gillette police also assisted in interviewing a fourth female minor who was living with them in Wyoming, police said.
The girl apparently had a child at a young age, which sparked investigators’ interest.
The fourth victim initially told police her baby’s father was a boy at school, but she eventually admitted Cazares raped her when she was living with him in McAllen, police said.
That girl told police she was at home taking care of the three foster children when Cazares ordered them to their rooms and raped her on the couch by holding her down.
On Tuesday, investigators received information that Cazares was once again in the area and was working at Hayashi Hibachi, records showed. Police arrested him there about 4:45 p.m.
Investigators continued working on filing charges against Cazares’ wife, Belinda.
A McAllen Municipal judge charged Jose Luis Cazares with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child — a first-degree felony — sexual assault and prohibited sexual conduct, both second-degree felonies. His bond was set at $550,000.
If convicted, he could face up to life imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000.
Source http://www.themonitor.com/news/fugitive-56493-mcallen-abused.html
What is with these fosters who are so vile? Why didn't someone at CPS or whoever licensed them do a thorough check on these people? They couldn't have really checked into these people because this seems like something too weird to have just started when this man was 40. It makes us sick to think that CPS's failures are why so many children suffer such horrendous abuse simply due to CPS negligence.
-----
by Naxiely Lopez
McALLEN — A combined effort by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies led to the arrest of a man wanted in connection with the sexual assault of three children who were under his care for more than a year.
Investigators believe Jose Luis Cazares, 40, abused three foster children — all under the age of 10 — while they lived with him and his wife, Belinda, from January 2008 to April 2009, court documents showed. The children were placed in foster care because their mother was deported to Honduras.
Police learned about the alleged abuse only after a second foster family took the children in.
A woman who claimed to be the victims’ half-sister went to police in May and told them the children had made an outcry, records showed. Police did not reveal the woman’s identity.
Investigators took the victims to the Children’s Advocacy Center in Edinburg in June, where they were interviewed separately by professionals. There, the children detailed their lives with the Cazares.
One girl told staff at the center Cazares would take her to his room, where he would sexually assault her or use sex toys to do so, records showed.
The girl told police she pleaded with Cazares to stop, but he wouldn’t.
If she told, he would slap her in the mouth, the child said.
The abuse happened “every day in a while after school,” a probable cause affidavit quotes her saying.
A second girl told staff Cazares would buy something for them if they engaged in sex with him and his wife.
That child detailed an incident during Halloween in which he took her costume off and assaulted her.
A third victim, a boy, did not make an outcry, police said. But his sisters told staff they saw Cazares sexually abusing him.
The children began showing signs of abuse shortly after the second foster family began caring for them in April 2009, the half-sister told police.
The family reached out to Child Protective Services at the time to alert them about the assault, but the family was never contacted by anyone, records showed. They reached out again in 2010 to the children’s physician, but again no one followed up.
By the time police were involved, Cazares and his wife had already relocated.
That’s when the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force got involved. The team comprises officers from various law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Texas Department of Criminal Justice; U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Hidalgo and Starr County sheriff’s offices; and police departments in McAllen, Mission, San Juan and Weslaco.
Officers tracked Cazares down in Prairie Gillette, Wyo., using documentation from Child Protective Services, police said. Investigators contacted the Gillette police and they assisted in questioning the pair.
Both denied the allegations, investigators said.
Gillette police also assisted in interviewing a fourth female minor who was living with them in Wyoming, police said.
The girl apparently had a child at a young age, which sparked investigators’ interest.
The fourth victim initially told police her baby’s father was a boy at school, but she eventually admitted Cazares raped her when she was living with him in McAllen, police said.
That girl told police she was at home taking care of the three foster children when Cazares ordered them to their rooms and raped her on the couch by holding her down.
On Tuesday, investigators received information that Cazares was once again in the area and was working at Hayashi Hibachi, records showed. Police arrested him there about 4:45 p.m.
Investigators continued working on filing charges against Cazares’ wife, Belinda.
A McAllen Municipal judge charged Jose Luis Cazares with two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child — a first-degree felony — sexual assault and prohibited sexual conduct, both second-degree felonies. His bond was set at $550,000.
If convicted, he could face up to life imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000.
Source http://www.themonitor.com/news/fugitive-56493-mcallen-abused.html
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Child abuse bill closer to becoming law in Wisconsin
School workers would have to report crimes
Written by Jim Collar
Advocates say a bill passed by the state Assembly last week expanding the list of those required to report child abuse will help prevent cases such as the one against a former Appleton teacher charged with abusing disabled students.
The bill, which passed the state Senate by a 31-1 vote in May, would require all school employees to report suspicion of child abuse to law enforcement or child welfare officials. The mandatory reporting law currently extends only to teachers, school administrators and counselors.
The bill moved through the Legislature as a felony case against former Janet Berry Elementary School teacher Mary C. Berglund progressed through Calumet County Court. The measure passed the Assembly on a voice vote Thursday and now requires Gov. Scott Walker's signature to become law.
Jeffrey Spitzer-Resnick, managing attorney for Disability Rights Wisconsin, referenced Berglund's case last week in a letter to Assembly members seeking support of the measure. He said the bill is a positive step to better protect children.
"One would hope that those who might abuse kids in school realize now that everybody in the building is a mandated reporter," Spitzer-Resnick said Monday. "If (abuse) happens, we're more likely to get reports and stop it faster."
Calumet County Dist. Atty. Jerilyn Dietz couldn't be reached for comment.
Berglund, 54, was charged in March with nine felony child abuse counts and one felony count of strangulation stemming from classroom incidents involving cognitively disabled children that occurred from 2009 into January.
Berglund's charges stem from documentation provided by a teacher's assistant relating to five students. On Jan. 6, the assistant said Berglund lay across a 9-year-old child, grabbed his throat and pushed his head back. In other incidents, police say Berglund grabbed children by their heads and necks and forced them to put their heads down during "time-out" punishments, the criminal complaint stated.
In the wake of the allegations involving Berglund, the Appleton Area School District changed its policy to meet the bill's goal by requiring all of its employees to report suspected child abuse or neglect.
The school board last month also created an ombudsman role to assist employees or serve as an alternative source for staff if they are uncomfortable telling their building principal.
Although Berglund's case was cited in support of the mandatory reporting bill, another 2011 case inspired it. In Racine, former teacher's aide Lewis Givens is charged with four counts of sexual assault in connection to incidents involving a 9-year-old girl on Dec. 21, 2010, and Jan. 6 and Jan. 10 of this year, the criminal complaint says.
In that case, a substitute teacher, an educational assistant and another staff member told police of witnessing incidents of inappropriate touching. Police, however, weren't contacted until Jan. 11.
Meanwhile, Berglund's case is on hiatus as attorneys wait for the appointment of a judge.
Judge Donald Poppy initially presided over the case. Attorneys planned to resolve the case by plea agreement in August, but Poppy — serving as a reserve judge — declined to accept the deal out of concern that a substantial reduction in charges wouldn't meet the public interest.
When Poppy retired, the case was assigned to Jeffrey Froehlich, who was appointed to Calumet County's judicial seat. It went to Fond du Lac Judge Peter Grimm based on a conflict of interest involving Froehlich, who was previously Calumet County's assistant district attorney.
Last month, a request was made for judicial substitution.
Source http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20111108/APC0101/111080410/Child-abuse-bill-closer-to-becoming-law-in-Wisconsin?odyssey=tab%7Cmostpopular%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE
Written by Jim Collar
Advocates say a bill passed by the state Assembly last week expanding the list of those required to report child abuse will help prevent cases such as the one against a former Appleton teacher charged with abusing disabled students.
The bill, which passed the state Senate by a 31-1 vote in May, would require all school employees to report suspicion of child abuse to law enforcement or child welfare officials. The mandatory reporting law currently extends only to teachers, school administrators and counselors.
The bill moved through the Legislature as a felony case against former Janet Berry Elementary School teacher Mary C. Berglund progressed through Calumet County Court. The measure passed the Assembly on a voice vote Thursday and now requires Gov. Scott Walker's signature to become law.
Jeffrey Spitzer-Resnick, managing attorney for Disability Rights Wisconsin, referenced Berglund's case last week in a letter to Assembly members seeking support of the measure. He said the bill is a positive step to better protect children.
"One would hope that those who might abuse kids in school realize now that everybody in the building is a mandated reporter," Spitzer-Resnick said Monday. "If (abuse) happens, we're more likely to get reports and stop it faster."
Calumet County Dist. Atty. Jerilyn Dietz couldn't be reached for comment.
Berglund, 54, was charged in March with nine felony child abuse counts and one felony count of strangulation stemming from classroom incidents involving cognitively disabled children that occurred from 2009 into January.
Berglund's charges stem from documentation provided by a teacher's assistant relating to five students. On Jan. 6, the assistant said Berglund lay across a 9-year-old child, grabbed his throat and pushed his head back. In other incidents, police say Berglund grabbed children by their heads and necks and forced them to put their heads down during "time-out" punishments, the criminal complaint stated.
In the wake of the allegations involving Berglund, the Appleton Area School District changed its policy to meet the bill's goal by requiring all of its employees to report suspected child abuse or neglect.
The school board last month also created an ombudsman role to assist employees or serve as an alternative source for staff if they are uncomfortable telling their building principal.
Although Berglund's case was cited in support of the mandatory reporting bill, another 2011 case inspired it. In Racine, former teacher's aide Lewis Givens is charged with four counts of sexual assault in connection to incidents involving a 9-year-old girl on Dec. 21, 2010, and Jan. 6 and Jan. 10 of this year, the criminal complaint says.
In that case, a substitute teacher, an educational assistant and another staff member told police of witnessing incidents of inappropriate touching. Police, however, weren't contacted until Jan. 11.
Meanwhile, Berglund's case is on hiatus as attorneys wait for the appointment of a judge.
Judge Donald Poppy initially presided over the case. Attorneys planned to resolve the case by plea agreement in August, but Poppy — serving as a reserve judge — declined to accept the deal out of concern that a substantial reduction in charges wouldn't meet the public interest.
When Poppy retired, the case was assigned to Jeffrey Froehlich, who was appointed to Calumet County's judicial seat. It went to Fond du Lac Judge Peter Grimm based on a conflict of interest involving Froehlich, who was previously Calumet County's assistant district attorney.
Last month, a request was made for judicial substitution.
Source http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20111108/APC0101/111080410/Child-abuse-bill-closer-to-becoming-law-in-Wisconsin?odyssey=tab%7Cmostpopular%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Oklahoma - DHS finds funding for benefits, legal defense
By GINNIE GRAHAM World Staff Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY - About $10 million in one-time funding has been found in the budget for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services to avoid cutting benefits in two low-income programs and to add $1 million to defend a class-action lawsuit.
On Tuesday, the commission overseeing the agency approved the expenditures, which include avoiding proposed hikes in child-care subsidy co-payments and avoiding lowering monthly assistance to a program for families with developmentally disabled children.
Commissioners also voted to use the money toward the class-action lawsuit filed by New York-based Children's Rights alleging abuse in the foster care system. Trial is set for February in the U.S. Northern District Court in Tulsa.
This brings the total cost of litigation to at least $9 million for private attorneys - $6 million already spent and $2 million previously planned for next year.
DHS Director Howard Hendrick said the funds are from amounts carried over from previous years. He said a new process allows officials to identify carryover funds earlier.
Hendrick said without new funding in the 2013 budget, these cuts may still need to be made.
"We would have found it eventually in January, February or March," Hendrick said. "We have a lot of one-time funds paying for recurring costs, and that's the biggest pause I have about the recommendation. But it's the right thing to do to push on through."
During discussion, Commissioner Jay Dee Chase cut off Commissioner Steven Dow from asking questions and called for a vote on the changes and monthly financial report, which had not been presented.
Procedure allows for further discussion and Dow asked for a "friendly amendment" for a separate vote on the service programs and legal fees.
"I don't accept that," Chase said. "My motion is made and seconded and I don't want to change it."
Dow said he wanted to explore if the $1 million could be used toward increasing foster-care subsidies or in the field offices.
"I'd like to have a conversation and discussion on where else we could spend $1 million before it goes to litigation costs," Dow said.
Commissioner Brad Yarbrough asked Chase to amend the motion so the board could hear the monthly financial report before making an approval.
Commissioners passed the changes by a 7-1 vote, with Dow dissenting.
The meeting ended with a vote to settle a 2007 lawsuit filed by a former foster child, who was subjected to "horrific acts of sexual abuse" by his foster father and his live-in boyfriend.
DHS commissioners and agency attorney Charles Waters refused to state the amount of the settlement or how it is being paid.
Terms were discussed in executive session, and the 7-1 approval was taken in open session.
According to the Oklahoman, the commissioners voted to pay a share of the $1.1 million settlement. The attorneys blacked out the settlement amount in the court papers, but The Oklahoman was able to calculate the amount of the overall settlement because attorneys asked for $308.90 in daily interest until it is paid.
Dow was the lone vote against the settlement and said he has not seen a proposed settlement agreement document.
"I personally did not feel I had enough advance knowledge or notice to make an informed decision," Dow said. "I was uncomfortable being brought in at the last minute."
The victim was a 15-year-old boy in Cleveland County who was placed in the home of Paul Stephen Hull in December 2005, the court records state. Shadow Mountain Behavioral Health System was named in the lawsuit as a contractor with DHS and had a hand in the boy's foster placement.
Hull's live-in lover, Erwin Charles Swender, started molesting the victim, and Hull joined in after the third or fourth assault, records state.
Swender had spent time in an Iowa juvenile facility as a 16-year-old after causing the death of a 22-month-old by hitting the toddler three to four times, according to court records and Iowa media reports.
He had a history with DHS, resulting in the termination of his parental rights to at least seven of his children.
DHS removed him for a few days in February 2006 because of concerns about conditions there. He was returned to the home after Hull agreed to a safety plan, which included keeping Swender away.
The lawsuit alleges Hull ignored the plan, with Swender continuing to live in the home and the two continuing to abuse the boy. DHS removed him for good when he finally told a counselor about the abuse.
The victim said he was abused for several weeks and was exposed to drugs and pornography.
Hull - a former teacher at Oklahoma City's Capitol Hill High School - pleaded guilty in 2007 to attempted rape, forcible sodomy, second-degree rape, lewd molestation and meth possession. He agreed to eight years in prison and to testify against Swender.
Swender pleaded guilty as jury selection began in 2007 to lewd acts with a child, forcible sodomy and meth possession. He was sentenced to 20 years.
The lawsuit alleges DHS left the victim in the home despite suspicions that Hull was ignoring the safety plan.
Since 2005, DHS has paid at least $3.4 million to settle child-welfare lawsuits, according to a Tulsa World investigation. That is in addition to the defense of the class-action lawsuit.
Source http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20111026_11_A1_CUTLIN294857
OKLAHOMA CITY - About $10 million in one-time funding has been found in the budget for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services to avoid cutting benefits in two low-income programs and to add $1 million to defend a class-action lawsuit.
On Tuesday, the commission overseeing the agency approved the expenditures, which include avoiding proposed hikes in child-care subsidy co-payments and avoiding lowering monthly assistance to a program for families with developmentally disabled children.
Commissioners also voted to use the money toward the class-action lawsuit filed by New York-based Children's Rights alleging abuse in the foster care system. Trial is set for February in the U.S. Northern District Court in Tulsa.
This brings the total cost of litigation to at least $9 million for private attorneys - $6 million already spent and $2 million previously planned for next year.
DHS Director Howard Hendrick said the funds are from amounts carried over from previous years. He said a new process allows officials to identify carryover funds earlier.
Hendrick said without new funding in the 2013 budget, these cuts may still need to be made.
"We would have found it eventually in January, February or March," Hendrick said. "We have a lot of one-time funds paying for recurring costs, and that's the biggest pause I have about the recommendation. But it's the right thing to do to push on through."
During discussion, Commissioner Jay Dee Chase cut off Commissioner Steven Dow from asking questions and called for a vote on the changes and monthly financial report, which had not been presented.
Procedure allows for further discussion and Dow asked for a "friendly amendment" for a separate vote on the service programs and legal fees.
"I don't accept that," Chase said. "My motion is made and seconded and I don't want to change it."
Dow said he wanted to explore if the $1 million could be used toward increasing foster-care subsidies or in the field offices.
"I'd like to have a conversation and discussion on where else we could spend $1 million before it goes to litigation costs," Dow said.
Commissioner Brad Yarbrough asked Chase to amend the motion so the board could hear the monthly financial report before making an approval.
Commissioners passed the changes by a 7-1 vote, with Dow dissenting.
The meeting ended with a vote to settle a 2007 lawsuit filed by a former foster child, who was subjected to "horrific acts of sexual abuse" by his foster father and his live-in boyfriend.
DHS commissioners and agency attorney Charles Waters refused to state the amount of the settlement or how it is being paid.
Terms were discussed in executive session, and the 7-1 approval was taken in open session.
According to the Oklahoman, the commissioners voted to pay a share of the $1.1 million settlement. The attorneys blacked out the settlement amount in the court papers, but The Oklahoman was able to calculate the amount of the overall settlement because attorneys asked for $308.90 in daily interest until it is paid.
Dow was the lone vote against the settlement and said he has not seen a proposed settlement agreement document.
"I personally did not feel I had enough advance knowledge or notice to make an informed decision," Dow said. "I was uncomfortable being brought in at the last minute."
The victim was a 15-year-old boy in Cleveland County who was placed in the home of Paul Stephen Hull in December 2005, the court records state. Shadow Mountain Behavioral Health System was named in the lawsuit as a contractor with DHS and had a hand in the boy's foster placement.
Hull's live-in lover, Erwin Charles Swender, started molesting the victim, and Hull joined in after the third or fourth assault, records state.
Swender had spent time in an Iowa juvenile facility as a 16-year-old after causing the death of a 22-month-old by hitting the toddler three to four times, according to court records and Iowa media reports.
He had a history with DHS, resulting in the termination of his parental rights to at least seven of his children.
DHS removed him for a few days in February 2006 because of concerns about conditions there. He was returned to the home after Hull agreed to a safety plan, which included keeping Swender away.
The lawsuit alleges Hull ignored the plan, with Swender continuing to live in the home and the two continuing to abuse the boy. DHS removed him for good when he finally told a counselor about the abuse.
The victim said he was abused for several weeks and was exposed to drugs and pornography.
Hull - a former teacher at Oklahoma City's Capitol Hill High School - pleaded guilty in 2007 to attempted rape, forcible sodomy, second-degree rape, lewd molestation and meth possession. He agreed to eight years in prison and to testify against Swender.
Swender pleaded guilty as jury selection began in 2007 to lewd acts with a child, forcible sodomy and meth possession. He was sentenced to 20 years.
The lawsuit alleges DHS left the victim in the home despite suspicions that Hull was ignoring the safety plan.
Since 2005, DHS has paid at least $3.4 million to settle child-welfare lawsuits, according to a Tulsa World investigation. That is in addition to the defense of the class-action lawsuit.
Source http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20111026_11_A1_CUTLIN294857
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Spring Hill Tenn. woman pleads guilty to imprisoning foster kids
Blog authors note: Why, was this allowed to happen when this person was convited of 5 counts of abusing the same girl in 2003? Why would someone convicted of child abuse be allowed to be a foster person? What is wrong with CPS, DSS or whatever they want to be called?
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Written by Jill Cecil Wiersma
SPRING HILL — A woman accused of abusing two foster children in her care pleaded guilty today to some of the 15 original charges against her.
Shelley Blair faces sentencing Dec. 7 on four charges: two counts of aggravated assault, attempted especially aggravated kidnapping and kidnapping.
Blair faces 14-22 years in prison for those charges, said Spring Hill Police Detective Geoff Betts, the lead detective in the case.
On the morning of Oct. 20, 2008, Officer Jesus Lopez noticed the malnourished and poorly groomed children — a 12-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl — walking near Belshire Way on Main Street.
Lopez noticed one child was riding a bicycle without a helmet and wondered why they were not in school.
Both children were in Blair's care and had been imprisoned in her Spring Hill Estates home where she denied them food and drink and access to a bathroom.
The children were treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and turned over to the Department of Children's Services during the investigation.
Blair has been charged before for child abuse. In 2003, she was charged with five counts of abusing the same girl.
Betts said Tuesday’s court proceedings took only about 10 minutes, but that he expected there to be hours of details discussed at the sentencing hearing.
Source http://www.tennessean.com/article/20111011/WILLIAMSON01/111011022/Spring-Hill-woman-pleads-guilty-imprisoning-foster-kids
-----
Written by Jill Cecil Wiersma
SPRING HILL — A woman accused of abusing two foster children in her care pleaded guilty today to some of the 15 original charges against her.
Shelley Blair faces sentencing Dec. 7 on four charges: two counts of aggravated assault, attempted especially aggravated kidnapping and kidnapping.
Blair faces 14-22 years in prison for those charges, said Spring Hill Police Detective Geoff Betts, the lead detective in the case.
On the morning of Oct. 20, 2008, Officer Jesus Lopez noticed the malnourished and poorly groomed children — a 12-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl — walking near Belshire Way on Main Street.
Lopez noticed one child was riding a bicycle without a helmet and wondered why they were not in school.
Both children were in Blair's care and had been imprisoned in her Spring Hill Estates home where she denied them food and drink and access to a bathroom.
The children were treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and turned over to the Department of Children's Services during the investigation.
Blair has been charged before for child abuse. In 2003, she was charged with five counts of abusing the same girl.
Betts said Tuesday’s court proceedings took only about 10 minutes, but that he expected there to be hours of details discussed at the sentencing hearing.
Source http://www.tennessean.com/article/20111011/WILLIAMSON01/111011022/Spring-Hill-woman-pleads-guilty-imprisoning-foster-kids
Monday, August 22, 2011
Can't Even Trust The Psych Docs
The below article goes to show that anyone involved with your child (through CPS or otherwise) might do something awful to them.
With so many foster children seeing these kinds of doctors, you have to wonder how many untold stories of psych doc molestation/rape may be going untold.
This doc sure is getting a short sentence!
Harford child psychologist pleads guilty to abusing 3 girls
By Mary Gail Hare, The Baltimore Sun
9:37 p.m. EDT, August 22, 2011
A Harford County child psychologist pleaded guilty Monday to child abuse and sexual assault of three young girls he had been treating at his Fallston office.
David Wayne Schrumpf, 55, of Whiteford will serve six years in prison, where he will undergo sex offender treatment, under terms of a plea agreement filed in Harford County Circuit Court. He is charged with one count of child sex abuse and two counts of second-degree assault.
Schrumpf will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He must also surrender his license to practice psychology and cannot seek another in any jurisdiction, according to the plea agreement.
The charges arose after one 7-year-old girl reported to her mother that Schrumpf had touched her inappropriately during a session at his office. Two other victims, who were 9 and 10 years old at the time of the abuse, came forward during the investigation, county State's Attorney Joseph I. Cassilly said. All the incidents occurred at Schrumpf's office in Fallston over a year beginning in October 2009, Cassilly said.
Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 31 in Harford County Circuit Court before Judge Maurice Baldwin.
Source http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/bs-md-ha-abuse-plea-20110822,0,1506215.story
With so many foster children seeing these kinds of doctors, you have to wonder how many untold stories of psych doc molestation/rape may be going untold.
This doc sure is getting a short sentence!
Harford child psychologist pleads guilty to abusing 3 girls
By Mary Gail Hare, The Baltimore Sun
9:37 p.m. EDT, August 22, 2011
A Harford County child psychologist pleaded guilty Monday to child abuse and sexual assault of three young girls he had been treating at his Fallston office.
David Wayne Schrumpf, 55, of Whiteford will serve six years in prison, where he will undergo sex offender treatment, under terms of a plea agreement filed in Harford County Circuit Court. He is charged with one count of child sex abuse and two counts of second-degree assault.
Schrumpf will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He must also surrender his license to practice psychology and cannot seek another in any jurisdiction, according to the plea agreement.
The charges arose after one 7-year-old girl reported to her mother that Schrumpf had touched her inappropriately during a session at his office. Two other victims, who were 9 and 10 years old at the time of the abuse, came forward during the investigation, county State's Attorney Joseph I. Cassilly said. All the incidents occurred at Schrumpf's office in Fallston over a year beginning in October 2009, Cassilly said.
Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 31 in Harford County Circuit Court before Judge Maurice Baldwin.
Source http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/bs-md-ha-abuse-plea-20110822,0,1506215.story
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