Couple plead not guilty to abuse, neglect charges
By DUANE BOURNE
BROOKSVILLE - The Hernando couple accused of locking a 10-year-old girl under their care in a bedroom with only spoonfuls of food and a paint bucket to use as a toilet, were arraigned in district court Tuesday.
Lori Allain, 47, and her 46-year-old husband, Arthur Allain, pleaded not guilty to aggravated child abuse and child neglect charges.
The two were arrested June 18 after the girl's brother ran away from the Allains' Hurricane Drive home and told authorities a tale of abuse, which left his sister weighing 29 pounds and, according to state officials, at risk of death.
The girl and her 14-year-old half brother, who had been living with the Allains and their four biological children, have been at the center of an increasingly complex case involving the Allains and the state Department of Children and Families.
During their brief appearance in Circuit Court Judge Jack Springstead's courtroom, the Allains waived a formal reading of the charges against them and were declared indigent, according to court records.
That means that they each paid a $40 application fee and submitted a written declaration of their income, assets and number of dependants to show that they could not afford private counsel.
Assistant public defenders Ricardo Cox and Devon Sharkey were appointed to represent Lori Allain and Arthur Allain, respectively. The Allains were ordered to return to court for a pretrial hearing Aug. 20, court records show.
Tuesday's hearing was the first step in the criminal phase of a case that has also prompted an internal investigation by the DCF and rule changes regarding how the agency monitors children in state care.
In the weeks following their arrest, the Allains have been in and out of court to learn the fate of their own children. Their four boys were placed in foster care July 2 after allegations arose that Arthur Allain and one of the boys may have sexually abused the 10-year-old girl, accusations Allain denies.
The Sheriff's Office could not confirm whether they are investigating the most recent allegation, and no charges have been filed.
At one of the initial dependency court hearings in June, DCF officials acknowledged that the girl was severely malnourished and dehydrated even though caseworkers were required to make monthly visits to the Allains' Hurricane Drive mobile home to see her brother. The girl was roughly 58 pounds underweight for a girl her age.
Brooksville attorney Jim Dysart represents the couple in their dependency case.
In denying the allegations, the Allains claimed that the girl was underweight when she and her brother came to live with them four years ago.
Lori Allain said the girl had an eating disorder that caused her to overeat and vomit, a product of being denied proper nutrition by her biological mother, Sonya Guntor.
Guntor relinquished her parental rights in June 2000, and custody of her children was given to the Allains, who were family friends.
While the girl, who had reportedly gained weight, and her brother remain in foster care, change may be afoot. John J. Edwards of Sebring filed a petition seeking custody of the boy.
On June 8, Edwards' attorney Gary Gossett Jr. filed a writ of habeas corpus challenging the legality of the state agency's holding his son. This form of petition seeks the prompt release of someone in custody and places the burden of proof on those detaining the person. DCF secretary Jerry Reiger was ordered to respond by July 29, court records show.
According to the petition, Edwards had paid child support for the boy but lost contact with the him. Later, Edwards learned from a third-party that his rights had also been stripped without paperwork.
"It is in my son's best interest to be reunited with me," the petition states.
Edwards' paternity of the boy, however, is in question, according to a 2002 DCF case assessment that lists two different men as possible fathers. Gossett, however, claims that a DNA test performed on Edwards conclusively established that he is the boy's father.
"His son is a brave kid, and he deserves to have that parent-child relationship," Gossett said Wednesday. "His rights as a parent have been stripped without due process. I am going to do everything I can to see that this kid gets what he deserves. He does not deserve to be passed around the DCF system."
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- Duane Bourne can be reached at 352 754-6114 or dbourne@sptimes.com