Man Charged With Beating Adopted Children

Man Charged With Beating Adopted Children

POSTED: 2:35 pm EDT May 7, 2008

UPDATED: 6:18 am EDT May 8, 2008

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A Central Florida man was arrested and charged with child abuse on Tuesday after the family nanny accused him of physically harming several of his adopted children.

According to an Orlando Police Department report, the family nanny said she witnessed Brian Kloosterman snap one child in the face with his own underwear. The report also said the nanny witnessed Kloosterman push the child down on a bed with his full weight while the child was crying.

The report said Kloosterman, a stay-at-home father, threw an adopted son across a room. It also said that a child the family adopted about three weeks ago told the nanny "Daddy hits me," just three days after his adoption.

Although the nanny took video of some incidents, it has not yet been released.

When the nanny confronted Kloosterman, he vehemently denied any abuse. After an adopted son said Kloosterman threw him from the bathroom to his bed, the report said Kloosterman responded, "Let me guess; he said that I [threw] him."

When the nanny asked him if this was true, Kloosterman said, "Of course not."

The nanny, who worked for the family for about five months, said she was fired when she told the children's adopted mother, Stephanie Schreneier, that she would report the incidents.

Schreneier told the nanny she was fired because she was like all the other nannies, according to Kloosterman's charging affidavit.

A prior nanny was fired in mid-March after she also confronted Schreneier with allegations of abuse by Kloosterman.

Neighbors in the upscale historic district of Orlando said the family had tried to have children for many years, and when they were unable, decided to adopt from Guatemala. They added that the family had a lot of hired help since they started adopting children.

Kloosterman was taken to the juvenile court house in Orlando, where the Department of Children and Families conducts hearings into child-abuse matters. An ongoing hearing at the court will determine what should happen to the children next.

A judge set Kloosterman's bond at $1,000 and banned him from any unsupervised contact with individuals under 18 years old.

Kloosterman bonded out of jail Wednesday night and had no comment about the charges brought against him. Schreneier can have supervised contact and she will need to undergo a pschological evaluation.

The children are staying with a family friend.