By Alyssa Newcomb
Heath and Deborah Campbell, the New Jersey parents of three children with Nazi-inspired names, lost custody of their fourth child 17 hours after he was born, the Express-Times of Lehigh Valley, Pa., reported.
Hons Campbell was taken into custody by the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services late Thursday night after the doctor who delivered the baby called the agency, the paper reported.
“There’s no legal binding court order. It’s basically a kidnapping, but they use different terms,” Heath Campbell told the Express-Times.
The Campbell family stepped into the spotlight in December 2008 when a ShopRite grovery store declined to decorate a birthday cake for their son Adolf Hitler Campbell’s third birthday.
The state took custody of Adolf, along with his sisters JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Himler Jeannie Campbell, in January of 2009. The three children have remained in foster care ever since.
A DYFS spokesperson told ABCNews.com in 2009 that she could not comment on a specific case, but said children are only taken into custody if there is a suspicion of abuse or neglect.
“We would never remove a child simply based on their name,” the spokeswoman said.
Neighbor Lori Dilts told ABCNews.com at the time the children were taken that it was certainly not because of their names.
“Those children look outwardly healthy, but they didn’t have much freedom,” Dilts said. “Occasionally, the little boy would come over here and would hate having to go back to his house.”
The couple’s attorney, Pasquale Giannetta, told The Associated Press that a court a hearing has been scheduled for Monday to determine the custody status of the newborn.
ABC News’ Russell Goldman contributed to this report.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2011/11/parents-of-adolf-hitler-lose-custody-of-newborn/
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 kidnapping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kidnapping. Show all posts
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Caught on camera: Shocking abuse at California boot camp under 'sergeant' who 'posed as police officer to kidnap children'
Blog author note:
Where in the world was CPS?! This is totally sick!
By Paul Bentley
Shocking videos have emerged showing horrific abuse suffered by children at a boot camp in California, under a 'sergeant' who has since been arrested for posing as a police officer to kidnap a minor.
Kelvin 'Sergeant Mac' McFarland was arrested in May after he allegedly kidnapped a 14-year-old schoolgirl while pretending to be a police officer, before demanding money from her parents in exchange for her return.
Videos which have been leaked since his arrest appear to show instructors at his 'boot camp' abusing children - intimidating them by screaming abuse inches from their faces before heckling them as they vomit due to exhaustion.
In one of the videos a young boy starts to collapse after lugging around a car tire.
He is then set upon by a team on instructors, screaming abuse centimetres from his face.
One raises his arm at one moment before the boy starts retching and collapses to the ground.
In another video a group of teens appear to be forced to drink large bottles of water in one gulp.
One by one they vomit on the floor as the instructors continue to shout at them to carry on drinking.
Camera phones can be seen thrust into the children's faces as they keel over.
The videos, obtained by the Pasadena Star-News, come after Kelvin McFarland was arrested on May 27 under charges of 'kidnapping, child abuse, false imprisonment, extortion and unlawful use of a badge'.
According to officials, he posed as a police officer and handcuffed a 14-year-old girl who was playing truant from school.
He is then alleged to have held her captive while demanding money from her parents to fund his boot camp.
Some of McFarland's clients have, however, come to his defence since the release of the videos, saying his boot camp programme changed their children's lives for the better.
McFarland served in the military before leaving to set up the Family First Growth Camp in Pasadena.
Source http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2054919/California-boot-camp-child-abuse-Kelvin-Sergeant-Mac-McFarland-caught-camera.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Where in the world was CPS?! This is totally sick!
By Paul Bentley
Shocking videos have emerged showing horrific abuse suffered by children at a boot camp in California, under a 'sergeant' who has since been arrested for posing as a police officer to kidnap a minor.
Kelvin 'Sergeant Mac' McFarland was arrested in May after he allegedly kidnapped a 14-year-old schoolgirl while pretending to be a police officer, before demanding money from her parents in exchange for her return.
Videos which have been leaked since his arrest appear to show instructors at his 'boot camp' abusing children - intimidating them by screaming abuse inches from their faces before heckling them as they vomit due to exhaustion.
In one of the videos a young boy starts to collapse after lugging around a car tire.
He is then set upon by a team on instructors, screaming abuse centimetres from his face.
One raises his arm at one moment before the boy starts retching and collapses to the ground.
In another video a group of teens appear to be forced to drink large bottles of water in one gulp.
One by one they vomit on the floor as the instructors continue to shout at them to carry on drinking.
Camera phones can be seen thrust into the children's faces as they keel over.
The videos, obtained by the Pasadena Star-News, come after Kelvin McFarland was arrested on May 27 under charges of 'kidnapping, child abuse, false imprisonment, extortion and unlawful use of a badge'.
According to officials, he posed as a police officer and handcuffed a 14-year-old girl who was playing truant from school.
He is then alleged to have held her captive while demanding money from her parents to fund his boot camp.
Some of McFarland's clients have, however, come to his defence since the release of the videos, saying his boot camp programme changed their children's lives for the better.
McFarland served in the military before leaving to set up the Family First Growth Camp in Pasadena.
Source http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2054919/California-boot-camp-child-abuse-Kelvin-Sergeant-Mac-McFarland-caught-camera.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Report: S.D. skirts law protecting Native American children
By Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY
Thirty-two states are failing to abide by the Indian Child Welfare Act, a law passed by Congress in 1978 to stop thousands of Native American children from being forcibly removed from their families and being sent to boarding schools, where they were abused, or into other abusive conditions, a National Public Radio investigation has found.
The problem is most pronounced in South Dakota, NPR reports.
"Cousins are disappearing, family members are disappearing," Peter Lengkeek, a Crow Creek Tribal Council member, tells NPR. "It's kidnapping. That's how we see it."
About 700 Native American children in South Dakota are removed from their homes, some of them under questionable circumstances, NPR finds. The majority of those placed in foster care are sent to non-native homes or group homes, although the Child Welfare Act requires that Native American children must be placed with their relatives or tribes, except in rare circumstances.
South Dakota state officials say they have to do what's in the best interest of the child.
"We come from a stance of safety," Virgena Wieseler of South Dakota's Department of Social Services tells NPR. "That's our overarching goal with all children. If they can be returned to their parent or returned to a relative and be safe and that safety can be managed, then that's our goal."
Critics say the situation appears to be financially lucrative for foster care providers, one of whom has ties with state officials, NPR reports.
Source http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/10/report-south-dakota-skirts-law-protecting-native-american-children/1
Thirty-two states are failing to abide by the Indian Child Welfare Act, a law passed by Congress in 1978 to stop thousands of Native American children from being forcibly removed from their families and being sent to boarding schools, where they were abused, or into other abusive conditions, a National Public Radio investigation has found.
The problem is most pronounced in South Dakota, NPR reports.
"Cousins are disappearing, family members are disappearing," Peter Lengkeek, a Crow Creek Tribal Council member, tells NPR. "It's kidnapping. That's how we see it."
About 700 Native American children in South Dakota are removed from their homes, some of them under questionable circumstances, NPR finds. The majority of those placed in foster care are sent to non-native homes or group homes, although the Child Welfare Act requires that Native American children must be placed with their relatives or tribes, except in rare circumstances.
South Dakota state officials say they have to do what's in the best interest of the child.
"We come from a stance of safety," Virgena Wieseler of South Dakota's Department of Social Services tells NPR. "That's our overarching goal with all children. If they can be returned to their parent or returned to a relative and be safe and that safety can be managed, then that's our goal."
Critics say the situation appears to be financially lucrative for foster care providers, one of whom has ties with state officials, NPR reports.
Source http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/10/report-south-dakota-skirts-law-protecting-native-american-children/1
Saturday, October 22, 2011
CPS Lies - Kidnapping, Corruption, Organized Crime
CPS LIES #1; Baby P Effect, Worldwide Kidnapping, Organized Crime
CPS LIES #2 Most Foster Parents Care
CPS LIES #3 Child Protective Services Criminals' Doublespeak
CPS LIES #2 Most Foster Parents Care
CPS LIES #3 Child Protective Services Criminals' Doublespeak
Friday, October 14, 2011
NY parents charged with kidnapping 8 children from foster care; bail set at $75,000 each
Associated Press
NEW YORK — A husband and wife were charged Thursday with kidnapping their eight children from foster care last month and fleeing New York, in part because they believed the children were being abused by their caregivers, prosecutors and their attorney said.
Mother Shanel Nadal and father Nephra Payne were arrested in Harrisburg, Pa., last month, waived extradition and were arraigned in criminal court in Queens, where the charges also included custodial interference and child endangerment. They were being held on $75,000 bail each.
Nadal, 28, slipped out of a supervised visited at a Queens foster care agency with her sevens sons and infant daughter, and then left town with her 34-year-old husband, prosecutors said. The family was found a week later safe in their van in Pennsylvania. The children were unharmed.
“This mother and father sadly risked the relationships they were building with their children during supervised visits when they allegedly kidnaped them,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. “This is a serious matter.”
Their attorney, Norman Steiner, said the couple vanished because they could no longer wait for the slow-moving Family Court system to give back the children. Steiner said one boy was molested in foster care and his siblings “suffered horrendous abuse” during two years in foster care.
“They are loving, caring parents, who made a choice — the lesser of two evils — to take their children and make them safe,” Steiner said.
The children — seven boys named Nephra, who have different middle names, and an infant daughter, Nefertiti — range in age from 11 months to 12 years, according to the police complaint in Harrisburg. They were returned to New York City and are again under the care of the Administration for Children’s Services. It’s not clear if they were placed in the same homes.
The couple lost custody of their seven sons in 2009, after allegations of abuse. Steiner said one of the boys had bruising on his eyes and was taken to the doctor by his father. The boy later went to school, and authorities had the father arrested on abuse charges, Steiner said. Steiner said there had possibly been a fight at home with other siblings. The criminal abuse allegations against the father were later dropped, he said. A Family Court hearing was scheduled for Oct. 19 in Manhattan.
The parents were working toward regaining custody, Steiner said: They went to parenting classes, attended supervised visits and kept their home immaculate. They regularly attended Family Court hearings and cooperated with authorities.
But Shanel Nadal had an eighth child, Nefertiti, born last year, and did not mention it to authorities. They also lost custody of her, and the birth led to even more problems with Family Court, Steiner said.
“To me that’s atrocious that the city steps in and tells you how many children to have,” Steiner said.
Child welfare officials do not comment on specific cases. But in order to remove a child from a home, there must be a determination of serious safety or risk concerns for a child to remain there.
The agency said it was aware of the parents’ abuse allegations and takes such allegations very seriously. The agency also is investigating how the children were abducted during a supervised visit, a spokesman said.
Nadal disappeared from the 3-acre campus of Forestdale, a nonprofit, privately run foster care center, on Sept. 19. She went there for a scheduled group visit with the children, who were living with three different foster caregivers. Despite the presence of both Forestdale staff and at least some of the foster parents, she slipped away unnoticed with the children during a trip to a vending machine, police said.
Police thought they may have gone to North Carolina, but they ended up in Pennsylvania where they had relatives. The children showed no signs of physical abuse when discovered, and it looked like the family had planned to spend the night in the vehicle.
NEW YORK — A husband and wife were charged Thursday with kidnapping their eight children from foster care last month and fleeing New York, in part because they believed the children were being abused by their caregivers, prosecutors and their attorney said.
Mother Shanel Nadal and father Nephra Payne were arrested in Harrisburg, Pa., last month, waived extradition and were arraigned in criminal court in Queens, where the charges also included custodial interference and child endangerment. They were being held on $75,000 bail each.
Nadal, 28, slipped out of a supervised visited at a Queens foster care agency with her sevens sons and infant daughter, and then left town with her 34-year-old husband, prosecutors said. The family was found a week later safe in their van in Pennsylvania. The children were unharmed.
“This mother and father sadly risked the relationships they were building with their children during supervised visits when they allegedly kidnaped them,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. “This is a serious matter.”
Their attorney, Norman Steiner, said the couple vanished because they could no longer wait for the slow-moving Family Court system to give back the children. Steiner said one boy was molested in foster care and his siblings “suffered horrendous abuse” during two years in foster care.
“They are loving, caring parents, who made a choice — the lesser of two evils — to take their children and make them safe,” Steiner said.
The children — seven boys named Nephra, who have different middle names, and an infant daughter, Nefertiti — range in age from 11 months to 12 years, according to the police complaint in Harrisburg. They were returned to New York City and are again under the care of the Administration for Children’s Services. It’s not clear if they were placed in the same homes.
The couple lost custody of their seven sons in 2009, after allegations of abuse. Steiner said one of the boys had bruising on his eyes and was taken to the doctor by his father. The boy later went to school, and authorities had the father arrested on abuse charges, Steiner said. Steiner said there had possibly been a fight at home with other siblings. The criminal abuse allegations against the father were later dropped, he said. A Family Court hearing was scheduled for Oct. 19 in Manhattan.
The parents were working toward regaining custody, Steiner said: They went to parenting classes, attended supervised visits and kept their home immaculate. They regularly attended Family Court hearings and cooperated with authorities.
But Shanel Nadal had an eighth child, Nefertiti, born last year, and did not mention it to authorities. They also lost custody of her, and the birth led to even more problems with Family Court, Steiner said.
“To me that’s atrocious that the city steps in and tells you how many children to have,” Steiner said.
Child welfare officials do not comment on specific cases. But in order to remove a child from a home, there must be a determination of serious safety or risk concerns for a child to remain there.
The agency said it was aware of the parents’ abuse allegations and takes such allegations very seriously. The agency also is investigating how the children were abducted during a supervised visit, a spokesman said.
Nadal disappeared from the 3-acre campus of Forestdale, a nonprofit, privately run foster care center, on Sept. 19. She went there for a scheduled group visit with the children, who were living with three different foster caregivers. Despite the presence of both Forestdale staff and at least some of the foster parents, she slipped away unnoticed with the children during a trip to a vending machine, police said.
Police thought they may have gone to North Carolina, but they ended up in Pennsylvania where they had relatives. The children showed no signs of physical abuse when discovered, and it looked like the family had planned to spend the night in the vehicle.
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?
-----
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
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Another CPS Failure - CPS: Custody of 1-Year-Old Is "Temporary"
By Randy McIlwain | Tuesday, Aug 23, 2011 | Updated 8:23 PM CDT
Naim Muhammad is charged with counts of capital murder in the drowning deaths of 3-year-old Elijah and 5-year-old Naim. Police said Muhammad killed his sons hours after abducting them while they and Kametra Sampson, his estranged girlfriend, were walking to school Monday morning.
Muhammad allegedly tried to break into his Sampson's home to kidnap 1-year-old Jeremiah after kidnapping the older children.
Sampson's brother, Brandon Turner, and his girlfriend Keosha Smith fought to keep Jeremiah away from him.
CPS said it had concerns about the safety of the children.
"We have been involved with the family before, and most recently starting in January, because of the domestic violence that was going on between the parents that was putting the children at risk," CPS spokeswoman Marissa Gonzalez said.
She said the children were not abused in the prior domestic disputes, but Jeremiah will remain in state custody until CPS can be certain Sampson's home is physically and emotionally safe for his return.
"There's so many questions about what led up to this very tragic incident, what's been going on with the family the last several days," Gonzalez said. "This is a temporary measure at this point and not something that's uncommon when this type of situation develops."
Gonzalez said CPS is working with Sampson to reunite her with her son. She said the agency would allow a family member to take custody of Jeremiah if he or she does not have a criminal record or prior history with CPS.
Source http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/CPS-Custody-of-1-Year-Old-Is-Temporary-128284723.html
Naim Muhammad is charged with counts of capital murder in the drowning deaths of 3-year-old Elijah and 5-year-old Naim. Police said Muhammad killed his sons hours after abducting them while they and Kametra Sampson, his estranged girlfriend, were walking to school Monday morning.
Muhammad allegedly tried to break into his Sampson's home to kidnap 1-year-old Jeremiah after kidnapping the older children.
Sampson's brother, Brandon Turner, and his girlfriend Keosha Smith fought to keep Jeremiah away from him.
CPS said it had concerns about the safety of the children.
"We have been involved with the family before, and most recently starting in January, because of the domestic violence that was going on between the parents that was putting the children at risk," CPS spokeswoman Marissa Gonzalez said.
She said the children were not abused in the prior domestic disputes, but Jeremiah will remain in state custody until CPS can be certain Sampson's home is physically and emotionally safe for his return.
"There's so many questions about what led up to this very tragic incident, what's been going on with the family the last several days," Gonzalez said. "This is a temporary measure at this point and not something that's uncommon when this type of situation develops."
Gonzalez said CPS is working with Sampson to reunite her with her son. She said the agency would allow a family member to take custody of Jeremiah if he or she does not have a criminal record or prior history with CPS.
Source http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/CPS-Custody-of-1-Year-Old-Is-Temporary-128284723.html
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Guatemalan Court Order Rattles Foreign Adoption Community
Adam Martin Aug 19, 2011
The story about a young, missing Guatemalan girl whose mother searched for her for five years and eventually found she had been adopted by a couple in Missouri has been floating around for a couple of years now. But the latest news is that the mother, Loyda Rodriguez Morales, has essentially won her case. CNN reported on Monday that the Guatemalan government had ordered the girl returned, and that because it was considered a case of human trafficking, would call Interpol to enforce the order if the adoptive parents didn't comply. According to Erin Seigal, a fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University who's been covering the case closely, that's an unprecedented move in the world of international adoptions.
And as Metafilter noted, the case has been "rocking the adoption world." On forums such as guatadopt.com, members have been debating the case for years. On Thursday, a screed from a user named LauraLyn blasted the way the Monahans had handled the case.
They were offered mediation, and this could have happened in Guatemala or in Liberty. Instead they dug in their heels to hold on to 'their daughter', refused communication, and forced a torturous court process. They claim to want 'to protect' 'Karen Abagail' from 'further trauma'. This is so hard to believe when they have traumatically turned the lives of so many people upside down to keep what does not belong to them. Perhaps other adopted children from Guatemala today are asking: Are my adoptive parents like the Monahans?
But another, Grey, was quick to defend the Monahans' right to privacy and due process.
They have been branded as complicit in fraud, without (to my eyes, at least) facts and evidence. They were faced with a very uncertain situation, and a clear threat (via email) that the little girl they were seeking to adopt could be harmed if they did not continue with the process. Labeling them as accomplices to human trafficking given the nature of their situation is more than unfair; it’s slander.
As an Aug. 12 report in the Houston Chronicle pointed out, "SURVIVORS Foundation, the human rights group representing the birth mother, does not allege the Monahans knew anything about a kidnapping."
On the site Poundpuplegacy, one commenter named Kerry pointed to the power imbalance between birth mother and the adoptive parents.
Let's pretend the mother whose child was kidnapped was a white American. Let's pretend the person who adopted through corrupt adoption facilitators were dark foreigners, and the adoption agency was not affiliated with any agency within the USA. What sort of media attention would this case get, then? What would public outcry sound like after more got news of the story?
Color and economics aside, this is a woman's issue. The adoption industry is slowly but surely pitting woman against woman and as far as I'm concerned educated women who know a thing or two about the plights of (other) women treated like sub-humans need to stand up and NOT TURN THEIR BACKS to the corruption that takes place within the child placement industry.
At the very least, the case seems to be a shocking reminder within the adoption community that while the end goal of adoption is to create loving families, it sometimes begins with tearing other families apart. Unsurprisingly, many comments focused on the benefit the child would have growing up in America, versus returning to Guatemala. Kerry's response was thoughtful: "Have we entered an era where those who support adoption believe no original mother living in a poor region is fit to parent her own child chosen by corrupt child brokers?"
Adoption has been a tumultuous issue for the U.S. and Guatemala over the last few years. Guatemala closed its doors to U.S. adoptions in 2008 because of rampant fraud. They were reopened in 2009, but not without controversy. According to an Aug. 6 Associated Press story, that's what happened with the girl, who was adopted under the name Karen Abigail López GarcÃa, but whose real name is Anyeli Liseth Hernandez Rodriguez, according to a website set up to help search for her. Her mother claims she was snatched from her arms in 2006. The court ordered the PGN, the Guatemalan equivalent of the attorney general's office, to work with the U.S. embassy on retrieving the girl, who has been living with Timothy and Jennifer Monahan in Missouri since 2007. The Monahans have two months from the July 29 order to return the girl, under the latest order from the Guatemalen court.
Source: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/08/guatemalan-court-order-rattles-foreign-adoption-community/41514/
The story about a young, missing Guatemalan girl whose mother searched for her for five years and eventually found she had been adopted by a couple in Missouri has been floating around for a couple of years now. But the latest news is that the mother, Loyda Rodriguez Morales, has essentially won her case. CNN reported on Monday that the Guatemalan government had ordered the girl returned, and that because it was considered a case of human trafficking, would call Interpol to enforce the order if the adoptive parents didn't comply. According to Erin Seigal, a fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University who's been covering the case closely, that's an unprecedented move in the world of international adoptions.
And as Metafilter noted, the case has been "rocking the adoption world." On forums such as guatadopt.com, members have been debating the case for years. On Thursday, a screed from a user named LauraLyn blasted the way the Monahans had handled the case.
They were offered mediation, and this could have happened in Guatemala or in Liberty. Instead they dug in their heels to hold on to 'their daughter', refused communication, and forced a torturous court process. They claim to want 'to protect' 'Karen Abagail' from 'further trauma'. This is so hard to believe when they have traumatically turned the lives of so many people upside down to keep what does not belong to them. Perhaps other adopted children from Guatemala today are asking: Are my adoptive parents like the Monahans?
But another, Grey, was quick to defend the Monahans' right to privacy and due process.
They have been branded as complicit in fraud, without (to my eyes, at least) facts and evidence. They were faced with a very uncertain situation, and a clear threat (via email) that the little girl they were seeking to adopt could be harmed if they did not continue with the process. Labeling them as accomplices to human trafficking given the nature of their situation is more than unfair; it’s slander.
As an Aug. 12 report in the Houston Chronicle pointed out, "SURVIVORS Foundation, the human rights group representing the birth mother, does not allege the Monahans knew anything about a kidnapping."
On the site Poundpuplegacy, one commenter named Kerry pointed to the power imbalance between birth mother and the adoptive parents.
Let's pretend the mother whose child was kidnapped was a white American. Let's pretend the person who adopted through corrupt adoption facilitators were dark foreigners, and the adoption agency was not affiliated with any agency within the USA. What sort of media attention would this case get, then? What would public outcry sound like after more got news of the story?
Color and economics aside, this is a woman's issue. The adoption industry is slowly but surely pitting woman against woman and as far as I'm concerned educated women who know a thing or two about the plights of (other) women treated like sub-humans need to stand up and NOT TURN THEIR BACKS to the corruption that takes place within the child placement industry.
At the very least, the case seems to be a shocking reminder within the adoption community that while the end goal of adoption is to create loving families, it sometimes begins with tearing other families apart. Unsurprisingly, many comments focused on the benefit the child would have growing up in America, versus returning to Guatemala. Kerry's response was thoughtful: "Have we entered an era where those who support adoption believe no original mother living in a poor region is fit to parent her own child chosen by corrupt child brokers?"
Adoption has been a tumultuous issue for the U.S. and Guatemala over the last few years. Guatemala closed its doors to U.S. adoptions in 2008 because of rampant fraud. They were reopened in 2009, but not without controversy. According to an Aug. 6 Associated Press story, that's what happened with the girl, who was adopted under the name Karen Abigail López GarcÃa, but whose real name is Anyeli Liseth Hernandez Rodriguez, according to a website set up to help search for her. Her mother claims she was snatched from her arms in 2006. The court ordered the PGN, the Guatemalan equivalent of the attorney general's office, to work with the U.S. embassy on retrieving the girl, who has been living with Timothy and Jennifer Monahan in Missouri since 2007. The Monahans have two months from the July 29 order to return the girl, under the latest order from the Guatemalen court.
Source: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/08/guatemalan-court-order-rattles-foreign-adoption-community/41514/
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Four Arrested In Death Of Ame Deal Locked Inside Box
Here's another horrible story where everyone, including nosey neighbors, ignored a little one getting abused. What is up with that?
While many people who are not abusing their child are being falsely turned in daily by a menacing ex-spouse or ex-friend, nosey neighbor, disgruntled co-worker and etc., the little girl in this story suffered and everyone watched! No one did a thing to help her, from the people in that house, to the neighbors who reported they saw what was going on - but did not say anything to anyone until little Ame was dead, to the school the child went to and yes, the child's doctor (she had to have vaccinations to go to school,) to CPS - Shame On Everyone!
Children who are truly being abuse send off a vibe that is very easy to pick up on. It can be found in their behavior, in things they say (or don't say,) body language and so on. A lot of people knew Ame was being abused - there is no doubt about that.
Police say the family of a 10-year-old Arizona girl who suffocated to death in of a plastic container locked her inside as punishment for stealing a popsicle from the refrigerator.
Police arrested Ame Deal's aunt, Samantha Allen, and her uncle, John Allen, on charges of first-degree murder.
The girl's grandmother, Judith Deal, 62, and her aunt, Cynthia Stoltzmann, 44, were also arrested and charged with child abuse and kidnapping. Cynthia Stoltzmann was the girl's legal guardian. Family members originally told police that the 10-year-old's death was the tragic ending to a game of hide and seek. They claimed Ame must have climbed into the box to hide and accidentally suffocated.
Police said Thursday that Ame Deal had been abused for a long time, and had been locked in a chest as punishment, according to reports.
Authorities say before being locked in, the girl was forced to run and do other exercises in the backyard, despite nearly triple-digit heat.
Police investigators said the girl apparently had been put in the box at least five times in recent months for misbehaving, and had been beaten with a wooden paddle, forced to swallow hot sauce and to eat dog feces.
Police said the girl slept on the floor of a stall shower in the home with no blanket or pillow as a disciplinary measure for bed wetting.
"This child died at the hands of those who were supposed to love and care for her," police spokesman Sgt. Trent Crump said. "This case has turned the stomachs of some of our most seasoned detectives."
A judge set all four suspects' preliminary hearings for Aug. 8.
While many people who are not abusing their child are being falsely turned in daily by a menacing ex-spouse or ex-friend, nosey neighbor, disgruntled co-worker and etc., the little girl in this story suffered and everyone watched! No one did a thing to help her, from the people in that house, to the neighbors who reported they saw what was going on - but did not say anything to anyone until little Ame was dead, to the school the child went to and yes, the child's doctor (she had to have vaccinations to go to school,) to CPS - Shame On Everyone!
Children who are truly being abuse send off a vibe that is very easy to pick up on. It can be found in their behavior, in things they say (or don't say,) body language and so on. A lot of people knew Ame was being abused - there is no doubt about that.
Police say the family of a 10-year-old Arizona girl who suffocated to death in of a plastic container locked her inside as punishment for stealing a popsicle from the refrigerator.
Police arrested Ame Deal's aunt, Samantha Allen, and her uncle, John Allen, on charges of first-degree murder.
The girl's grandmother, Judith Deal, 62, and her aunt, Cynthia Stoltzmann, 44, were also arrested and charged with child abuse and kidnapping. Cynthia Stoltzmann was the girl's legal guardian. Family members originally told police that the 10-year-old's death was the tragic ending to a game of hide and seek. They claimed Ame must have climbed into the box to hide and accidentally suffocated.
Police said Thursday that Ame Deal had been abused for a long time, and had been locked in a chest as punishment, according to reports.
Authorities say before being locked in, the girl was forced to run and do other exercises in the backyard, despite nearly triple-digit heat.
Police investigators said the girl apparently had been put in the box at least five times in recent months for misbehaving, and had been beaten with a wooden paddle, forced to swallow hot sauce and to eat dog feces.
Police said the girl slept on the floor of a stall shower in the home with no blanket or pillow as a disciplinary measure for bed wetting.
"This child died at the hands of those who were supposed to love and care for her," police spokesman Sgt. Trent Crump said. "This case has turned the stomachs of some of our most seasoned detectives."
A judge set all four suspects' preliminary hearings for Aug. 8.
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