Boy begged in school, but did anyone hear?

Boy begged in school, but did anyone hear?

Superintendent cites confidentiality rules in reporting of abuse 

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer

First published: Friday, May 30, 2008

TROY -- The 11-year-old boy allegedly abused by his adoptive mother was so hungry he begged for food off classmates' cafeteria trays, but whether teachers or other school officials intervened to help him is not clear.

The boy's adoptive mother, Sharmon S. "Sherry" Evans, was charged May 10 in City Court with a misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child. The boy, whose name is being withheld by the Times Union, told police in a statement that he was neglected for as long as he could remember.

According to a deposition taken from a 14-year-old friend, Evans' son stood near the garbage cans in the cafeteria at Knickerbacker Middle School in Lansingburgh and asked classmates for their leftovers.

"He was asking the kids if he could have their food, the stuff that wasn't bitten," said the older boy, whose name also is being withheld. "He'd stuff some in his pockets so he could eat during the day, but he chowed down most of the stuff in the mornings. He didn't bring it home because, I don't know if she (Sharmon Evans) does it now, but she used to check his pockets."

School officials said they do not know if anyone there raised the alarm or tried to help the boy.

"We are bound by strict confidentiality rules regarding such matters, so all I can tell you is I don't know if anyone here called the child abuse hot line and even if I did, I could not reveal it," said George Goodwin, Lansingburgh school district superintendent.

Officials from both the state and Rensselaer County Child Protective Services also refused to release any information.

The state deems school employees mandatory reporters who can face criminal action if they do not report possible abuse.

"Teachers or employees are not required to OK it with me or anyone else before they call the state child abuse hot line," Goodwin said. "That is something they do on their own."

The case came to light when Evans' son showed up at his friend's house May 9 wanting to say goodbye because he was running away from home.

The friend's parents took Evans' son to police headquarters.

In his statement to police, the 14-year-old friend said Evans allegedly did not treat the boy the same as other children in her care. Evans has a daughter who lives with her and at one time had six foster children, the maximum allowed, at her 714 Fourth Ave. home.

She retired from foster care work in December.

"A lot of times she would feed everyone else but not him," the boy said. "He had to follow her every place. He couldn't do anything without her. He couldn't even go to the bathroom without her and most of the time she wouldn't even let him go.

"His room was way different from everyone else's. He had a lot less stuff and it also smelled like pee."

The victim, in a graphically explicit statement to police, said Evans made him wear a diaper instead of using the bathroom. He said he sometimes defecated on his floor in the night rather than fill the diaper. "A few times my mother found it and made me eat the poop. I had to throw up it was so bad," he told police.

County officials have said the boy now lives with other foster care providers and is doing better and gaining weight.

Evans' case is pending in City Court and she is free. She could face up to a year in jail on the misdemeanor charge.

Bob Gardinier can be reached at 454-5696 or by e-mail at bgardinier@timesunion.com.