Mixup in Russian Adoption Case

Mixup in Russian Adoption Case

A misunderstanding about a court order delayed a hearing yesterday for an Arizona couple accused of beating their newly adopted Russian children on a flight from Moscow to New York.

The couple, Richard and Karen Thorne, had arrived at Family Court in Queens optimistic that depositions from passengers on the plane who said the couple had done nothing wrong would help them regain custody of their 4-year-old girls and allow them finally to go home to Phoenix.

The couple have been separated from the girls since May 28, when other passengers on their flight said the Thornes had beaten, choked and assaulted the unruly children.

The Thornes were charged with assault, harassment and endangering the welfare of the children. The girls were put in foster care.

But then the misunderstanding arose over a court order from Arizona, which Judge Joseph Lauria of Family Court interpreted as meaning that Arizona was in effect suspending the adoptions.

After a flurry of faxes and telephone calls, Arizona court officials acknowledged that they could not suspend the adoptions. They said the order was not intended to affect this case, but to bar the Thornes from any future adoptions in Arizona, or from re-adopting these girls in Arizona, until the criminal case against them was resolved.

Judge Lauria rescheduled the Thornes to reappear in Family Court July 2. They face a hearing on the criminal charges on June 26.