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Children killed or abused within their homeschooling adoptive family



10 children adopted by Dave and Wonda Dixon

A 12-year-old girl, adopted by Dave and Wonda Dixon, was allegedly sexually and physically abused. She was also deprived of food. The Dixon's had adopted a total of 10 children.
Date: 2013-08-21
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Sexual abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Lubbock, Texas
United States
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10 children adopted by Sharon and Reed Leonard

Sharon and Reed Leonard, adopted 10 children from Ethiopia and China, 4 through disruptions. At least 6 of the children are alleged to have been forced to sleep ouside in calf hutchs, and were beaten with paddles, plastic pipes or metal rods. The children were homeschooled. 4 sibs were adopted via AAI from Layla House. The family moved from Wisconsin to Missouri in Nov 2008.
Date: 2009-09-01
Placement type: Adoption
Institution: Layla House
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Neosho, Missouri
United States
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11 Children adopted by Michael and Sharen Gravelle

11 children adopted by Michel and Sharen Gravelle were found to be kept in cages.

Michael and Sharen Gravelle met in sexual abuse counseling. Sharen was in the program because her previous husband had abused their daughter. Michael was in the program after admitting to a prosecutor that he had sexually molested his 10-year-old daughter over a two-year period. Not only was he never prosecuted for this, he failed to even complete the sex offender treatment program at which he met Sharen. - See more at: http://publicjustice.net/content/fighting-safety-kids-foster-care-system#sthash.nPtFKHzR.dpuf
Michael and Sharen Gravelle met in sexual abuse counseling. Sharen was in the program because her previous husband had abused their daughter. Michael was in the program after admitting to a prosecutor that he had sexually molested his 10-year-old daughter over a two-year period. Not only was he never prosecuted for this, he failed to even complete the sex offender treatment program at which he met Sharen.
Michael and Sharen Gravelle met in sexual abuse counseling. Sharen was in the program because her previous husband had abused their daughter. Michael was in the program after admitting to a prosecutor that he had sexually molested his 10-year-old daughter over a two-year period. Not only was he never prosecuted for this, he failed to even complete the sex offender treatment program at which he met Sharen. - See more at: http://publicjustice.net/content/fighting-safety-kids-foster-care-system#sthash.nPtFKHzR.dpuf
Michael and Sharen Gravelle met in sexual abuse counseling. Sharen was in the program because her previous husband had abused their daughter. Michael was in the program after admitting to a prosecutor that he had sexually molested his 10-year-old daughter over a two-year period. Not only was he never prosecuted for this, he failed to even complete the sex offender treatment program at which he met Sharen. - See more at: http://publicjustice.net/content/fighting-safety-kids-foster-care-system#sthash.nPtFKHzR.dpuf
Michael and Sharen Gravelle met in sexual abuse counseling. Sharen was in the program because her previous husband had abused their daughter. Michael was in the program after admitting to a prosecutor that he had sexually molested his 10-year-old daughter over a two-year period. Not only was he never prosecuted for this, he failed to even complete the sex offender treatment program at which he met Sharen. - See more at: http://publicjustice.net/content/fighting-safety-kids-foster-care-system#sthash.nPtFKHzR.dpuf

Michael and Sharen Gravelle met in sexual abuse counseling. Sharen was in the program because her previous husband had abused their daughter. Michael was in the program after admitting to a prosecutor that he had sexually molested his 10-year-old daughter over a two-year period. Not only was he never prosecuted for this, he failed to even complete the sex offender treatment program at which he met Sharen. - See more at: http://publicjustice.net/content/fighting-safety-kids-foster-care-system#sthash.nPtFKHzR.dpuf
Michael and Sharen Gravelle met in sexual abuse counseling. Sharen was in the program because her previous husband had abused their daughter. Michael was in the program after admitting to a prosecutor that he had sexually molested his 10-year-old daughter over a two-year period. Not only was he never prosecuted for this, he failed to even complete the sex offender treatment program at which he met Sharen. - See more at: http://publicjustice.net/content/fighting-safety-kids-foster-care-system#sthash.nPtFKHzR.dpuf
Michael and Sharen Gravelle met in sexual abuse counseling. Sharen was in the program because her previous husband had abused their daughter. Michael was in the program after admitting to a prosecutor that he had sexually molested his 10-year-old daughter over a two-year period. Not only was he never prosecuted for this, he failed to even complete the sex offender treatment program at which he met Sharen. - See more at: http://publicjustice.net/content/fighting-safety-kids-foster-care-system#sthash.nPtFKHzR.dpuf
Date: 2005-09-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Disabilities: yes
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Homestudy

Organizations: Adopt America Network
Persons: Corie M Huxford, Collin Myers Ph.D., and Fairhaven Counseling of Cuyahoga Falls

Placement

Organizations: The Cradle , Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Illinois Department of Children's and Family Services, Huron County Department of Job and Family Services, Williams County, Stark County, Cuyahoga County, Chicago CPS, Hamilton County

Post placement

Organizations: Adopt America Network

Location

Clarksfield, Ohio
United States
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15 children placed with Bill and Debbie Rettew

Fifteen special-needs children, four of whom adopted, and the rest informally placed with Bill and Debbie Rettew were physically abused, medically neglected, and denied food as punishment.

In February 2002, a deal was struck with the Rettews, in order for them to get some of their children back. The Rettews agreed to a court order that found that “they physically and educationally neglected their 15 children.”

The court ordered that most of the children be enrolled in public or private school, that they be allowed ample socialization time as decided by the in-home therapy team, and that they be provided with any medical care or therapy advised by social services.

At least three of the children asked that they not be returned to the Rettews; it is not clear how many eventually returned.
Date: 2000-06-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Disabilities: yes
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

Greer, South Carolina
United States
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18 Children in care of Tom and Debra Schmitz

 

10 children adopted by/in legal custody of and 7 children illegally in the "care" of Tom and Debbie Schmitz were abused by their adopters (they also had 1 bio child). For years the Schmitzes took in disabled and otherwise troubled children in their home and were part of an under-ground network of people taking in children from disrupted adoptions. As adherents of Attachment Therapy, they beat their children, locked them up in cagelike bunk beds, forcing one child to eat his own vomit; holding another child's head underwater as punishment; sitting on a girl and urinating on her; and hurling a wheelchair-bound girl into a swimming pool; placing a hose in a girl's mouth and turning on the water, and lancing a boil on another child with a box cutter as she screamed in pain; forcing children to dig what they were told were their own graves.

Seven children in the "care" of Tom and Debra Schmitz were illegally placed. At least: 2 were from China, 2 from Russia, 1 from Vietnam and 1 from Mexico.

Debra pleaded no contest to 14 counts of child abuse and one count of trafficking. She was sentenced to six months in jail and probation. Tom Schmitz case has been expunged. The Schmitz are now divorced.
Date: 2004-06-30
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Disabilities: yes
Home schooling: yes

Location

Trenton, Tennessee
United States
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  • 20146 reads

2 children adopted by Erin and Jennifer Pickel

A 15-year-old boy (adopted 2005) and a 13-year-old girl (adopted 2006) adopted by Erin and Jennifer Pickel were physically abused by their adopters and locked in a backyard playhouse for days at a time. Three other children (one over 18) in the home were apparently unharmed. Erin James Pickel is a US Air Force major stationed at Seymour Johnson Airbase, Goldsboro, NC.
Date: 2013-06-14
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Goldsboro, North Carolina
United States
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28 children adopted by Kathy and Dan Blackburn

28 children, many special needs, adopted by Kathy and Dan Blackburn while they were missionaries in Haiti. Parents divorced after 30 year marriage and both alleged the other parent was guilty of child abuse. Initially Dan was granted custody of the minor children, he lost it after the children were neglected.
Date: 1996-06-06
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

SHELBYVILLE, Indiana
United States
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3 children adopted by John and Sonja Kluth

A 15-year-old and a 11-year-old boy and 9-year-old girl, adopted by John Edward Kluth and Sonja Kay Kluth, were allegedly beaten, choked, whipped, and burned.  In addition, the adoptive parents allegedly forced the youngsters to eat pet food, kept both boys confined to the basement, and locked the oldest son in a dog crate for up to two months.

According to news reports, the adoptive father claimed he and his wife were going to be accused of child abuse, but the children came to them already damaged.

The Canadian County Sheriff says the couple was receiving $4,500 a month support money from the state of Wisconsin, where they adopted the children before moving to Oklahoma.


Date: 2011-02-23
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Yukon, Oklahoma
United States
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3 children adopted by Mark and Susan Hooper

3 children, aged 9, 10 and 11 years, were starved by their adoptive parents Mark and Susan Hooper. The three children were adopted by the Hoopers in 2007, six years prior to the discovery of the abuse.
Date: 2013-02-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

Mount Jewett, Pennsylvania
United States
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3 children adopted by Tim and Iliana Archuleta

10-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, and their 8-year-old brother, adopted by Tim and Iliana Archuleta, were tortured, imprisoned, and starved by their adoptive mother, Iliana Archuleta, and her brother-in-law Rogelio Archuleta. The adoptive father knew about the abuse but did nothing to stop it
Date: 2012-10-13
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive mother, Other family member
Home schooling: yes

Location

San Antonio, Texas
United States
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3 children Children adopted by David and Rejeana Moss

Two girls, age 11 and 13, and an adult male, adopted by David and Rejeana Moss, were being kept locked away and were physically abused by their adoptive parents. The two girls alleged sexual abuse by David Moss as well.
Date: 2014-09-12
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Sexual abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Placement

Location

Dorset Township, Ohio
United States
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4 children adopted by Aubrey and Laura Thomas

A 15-year-old boy, a 14-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl, adopted by Aubrey and Laura Thomas were paddled regularly, forced to eat horse manure, forced to perform sex acts, fed bar soap and cayenne pepper and forced to vomit food and eat it off the floor.

The Thomases became foster parents to six children in 2001. In 2003, two of the children were removed because they had been abused.
Date: 2011-10-14
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Sexual abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Sperry, Oklahoma
United States
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76+ Children adopted by Diane and Dennis Nason


From 1968 to 1990 the Nasons adopted between 76 and 84 children, most of them having special needs, to form their "Celebration Family" or "Nason Nation". The also had 6 biological children. Eventually they formed their own school "Great Expectations".

Allegations involve physical abuse, mental injury, neglect, sexual abuse among siblings, and sexual abuse by Dennis Nason. Three small children died of neglect: Natasha (India or Bangladesh), an infant girl who allegedly died of malnutrition and starvation in March 1988; and Jason, 2, and Jodi (Chile), 4, who each died of shigella (dysentery) in 1985, just a few days apart.
Jason Nason Jodi Nason<-- Jason middle, Jodi right
Some of the 76 children they adopted have told of being beaten and being shocked with a cattle prod. At least one younger child, was allegedly caged in his beds. A 27-year-old woman adopted when she was 10 said that Dennis Nason, 49, molested her and attempted intercourse, and that she was forced to eat a bar of soap. She also said she had been hit with a belt during meals for eating too slowly and was hit again when the first beating caused her to urinate.

Diane and Dennis found new homes for at least 40 of the 54 children who lived in the Nason home between January and March of 1991 (Among the charges against them is that Dennis and Diane forged documents, medical histories, to get these children placed.)

The Nasons were acquitted of abuse charges, but convicted of racketeering and forgery involving the children's paperwork.

The children were adopted from Vietnam, India, Korea, Mexico, El Salvador, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Israel, and from United States foster care.
Date: 1991-05-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Sexual abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Lethal neglect, Economic exploitation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother, Adopted sibling, Other non-family member
Disabilities: yes
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Placement

Organizations: Oregon Department of Human Services, Private domestic adoption agencies, International Adoption Agencies
Persons: Mother Teresa

Location

Sisters, Oregon
United States
See map: Google Maps

Adam Herrman (Irvin Groeninger III)

Adam Herrman  

Adam was last seen in 1999 at age 11 or 12. His adoptive parents, Doug and Valerie Herrman, did not report him missing for 10 years and continued to collect adoption subsidy payments until he would have turned 18. The Herrmans told their family that Adam had returned to state custody. They are telling the police that they think he ran away. Adam was adopted when he was 2 yrs old. Valerie Herrman allegedly mentally and physically abused the boy: punching, hair-pulling, spanking with a wooden spoon or belt, refusing to feed him, and making him sleep in the bathtub without a pillow or blankets. CPS investigated several times. The sheriff is investigating the case as a death. (Left age 11, middle photo is an age progression, right 2 years)
Date: 1999-01-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation, Economic exploitation
Abuser: Adoptive mother, Undetermined
Home schooling: yes

Location

Towanda, Kansas
United States
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Alex Pavlis (Alexei Vasilovich Geiko)

 
At age 6, Alex Pavlis of Illinois, was beaten to death by his U.S. adopted mother, Irma, 6 weeks after his November adoption from Yeysk, Krasnodar, Russia. Adoptive father was Dino Pavlis. Alex, who was adopted along with his 5 yr old bio sister, was found to have 32 bruises, scars, and cuts. Irma had a difficult time with Alex. He banged his head on the walls, floors, and defecated and urinated on himself. Reports indicate that his injuries could have been self-inflicted. The children were temporarily homeschooled until a school would be chosen. Irma, a Mexican immigrant, was charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Irma Pavlis was sentenced to 12 years in prison. She served five and was released in 2008.
Date: 2003-12-18
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Homestudy

Organizations: Baptist Children's Home & Family Services

Facilitators

Placement

Organizations: Yunona USA
Persons: Ivan Jerdev

Location

Schaumburg, Illinois
United States
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Alexis 'Lexie' Glover

 

13-year-old girl adopted by Alfreedia Gregg-Glover, disappeared on January 7, 2009. Her dead body was found two weeks later in a Woodbridge, Va, creek. Freedia Glover was later arrested for killing Alexis.
Date: 2009-01-07
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Manassas, Virginia
United States
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Alloma Gilbert, Christopher Spry and Child A

 

3 children, 1 adopted and 2 fostered by Eunice Spry were abused over 20 years. The children were beaten, starved, forced to eat vomit, had sticks rammed down their throats, skin rubbed with sandpaper and were locked naked in their rooms for weeks. Spry was convicted in 2007.
Date: 2005-01-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive mother, Foster mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Placement

Organizations: Gloucestershire social services

Location

Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire
United Kingdom

Andrew Burd

Andrew Burd  Andrew Axel Burd   

4-year-old boy, in foster to adoption placement with Larry and Hannah Overton, was forced to drink a mixture of water and Cajun spices as punishment. The Overtons waited nearly three hours before taking the boy to an urgent care clinic as he vomited and drifted in and out of consciousness. When they arrived, Andrew was no longer breathing. A day later he died -- 4 months after his placement with the Overtons. Andrew Axel Burd died of hypernatremia or salt poisoning. Andrew consumed the equivalent of 23 teaspoons of Zatarain's Creole Seasoning or 6 teaspoons of pure salt. He also had head trauma as well as bruises and scratches.

Hannah Overton (nee Saenz) was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life; Larry Overton pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and is on 5 years probation.

Mrs Overton and her church, Calvary Chapel of the Coastlands, continue to appeal her conviction in various ways. She maintains that Andrew ate the salt himself, however Andrew's former foster mother, who attended the same church testified she had not seen any pica or eating issues with Andrew during the 18 months he was in her home. (In an unusual coincidence, Hannah's father Bennie Saenz, a former Calvary Chapel pastor, was convicted of murder in 1985.) Overtons homeschooled their school age children. They had 4 bio children and Hannah was 6 months pregnant when Andrew died.

Hannah Overton was released from prison in December 2014. The case was dismissed in April 2015.
Date: 2006-10-02
Placement type: To be adopted
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse, Lethal neglect
Abuser: Adoptive mother, Foster mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Homestudy

Organizations: Spaulding for Children

Post placement

Organizations: Spaulding for Children
Persons: Ana Billeaux

Location

Corpus Christi, Texas
United States
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Austin and Edward Bryant

  Austin (left) Edward (right)
Two brothers, adopted by Edward and Linda Bryant, both went missing. Edward (age 9 at the time) disappeared in 2001. Austin (age 7 at the time) disappeared in 2003. One of the boys was reportedly denied food, spanked, forced to run up and down stairs and rolled up tightly in blankets as punishment. Bryants reported they were advised to roll the children in blankets "like a burrito" by a Colorado therapist.

The Bryant's moved to Texas in 2005 and never declared the boys missing. They kept receiving adoption subsidies for the remainder of the decade, grossing in $175,000. They were arrested early 2011.
Date: 2011-01-22
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Monument, Colorado
United States
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Boy adopted by Christine Evelyn Baughman

11-year-old boy, adopted from Ukraine in 2013, by Christine Evelyn Baughman, was allegedly physically abused by his adoptive mother.
Date: 2014-11-22
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Ringgold, Georgia
United States
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  • 6781 reads

Boy adopted by Jeremiah Lovato

A 15-year-old boy adopted by single-father Jeremiah Lovato, was repeatedly beaten with a 2-by-2 piece of lumber and suffered long time physical abuse. After the boy's school suspected abuse, his father decided to "home school him".
Date: 2010-01-08
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father
Home schooling: yes

Location

Cimarron Hills, Colorado
United States
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Boy adopted by Lee M Rager and Diana J. Haley

A boy, adopted by Lee M Rager and  Diana J. Haley was allegedly tortured by his adoptive parents. He was kept locked in his room and tied up while being beaten. The boy was removed from school twice to prevent further investigations into child abuse.
Date: 2013-07-22
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Fort Wayne, Indiana
United States
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Boy adopted by Matthew and Amy Sweeney (Daniil Krichun)

8-year-old boy adopted from Tula, Russia in June 2006 at age 3 was systematically abused by his adoptive mother. His adoptive parents, Navy Lieutenant Commander Matthew Sweeney and Amy Sweeney, had 5 bio children and Daniel. All 6 children were homeschooled. Daniel Alexander was beaten with a belt and electric cord. According to Russian sources, prior to the adoption, Daniel lost an eye due to abuse while in his biological mother's home in Russia.

For ignoring the abuse, Matthew Sweeney pleaded guilty to contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and received a suspended sentence of 60 days. Amy Sweeney, pleaded guilty to felony abuse and neglect. Her sentencing will be in Dec 2013
Date: 2012-07-19
Placement type: Adoption
Institution: Novomoskovsk Baby Home (Tula Oblast #3)
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Disabilities: yes
Home schooling: yes

Placement

Organizations: Child of the Heart

Location

Bristow, Virginia
United States
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Boy adopted by Mona and Russell Hauer

8 year old boy adopted along with 2 siblings was beaten and fed a liquid only diet by Russell and Mona Hauer. He weighed 35 lbs, the size of a 4 year old. His bones were protruding and he had a swollen belly. Prior to adoption, the Hauers were advised he had suffered trauma and should be provided therapy. He was normal weight at that time. Less than 2 months outside the home, the boy had gained 15 lbs and 2 inches in height.
Date: 2012-11-06
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Placement

Organizations: likely Nicollet County Social Services or Le Sueur County Human Services

Location

North Mankato, Minnesota
United States
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Boy adopted by Paul and Debbie Salvetti

A 13 year old ethnic Roma boy adopted from Russia was confined to in his room and deprived of food and schooling by Paul and Debbie Salvetti, his adoptive father and stepmother, during a 3 month period in 2007. Earlier Debbie was alleged to have hit the boy with a frying pan and baseball bat. Debbie Sue Salvetti was charged with two counts of felony child abuse inflicting serious injury. Paul Joseph Salvetti faced one charge. In 2009, Paul and Debbie took a joint Alford plea and were sentenced to 20 to 33 months in jail. Paul filed several appeals requesting to withdraw his Alford plea The boy is referred to as Pesha or TS in the pleadings.
There were 3 or 4 other children in the home, including the boy's sister, possibly adopted in Peru.
The boy was adopted as an infant or toddler by Paul Salvetti and the now deceased Leslie Salvetti, who passed away in 1998.
Date: 2007-01-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Other family member
Home schooling: yes

Location

Kernersville, North Carolina
United States
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Boy adopted by Peter and Deedra Mitchell

6-year-old boy adopted by Peter and Deedra Mitchell was being starved, handcuffed and locked a basement.
Date: 2004-09-04
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Kansas City, Missouri
United States
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Boy adopted by Steven and Mikelann Renwick

6 year old boy only allowed in the house for meals, was beaten with switches, and had to sleep in the laundry room with the dogs. He was admitted to the hospital with severe injuries to his head, legs and body, after being in the home about 1 1/2 years. Three other children in the home were adopted as infants. Mikelann Renwick is a Worship & Creative Arts Pastor of a Holiness church.
Date: 2010-08-18
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

Tavares, Florida
United States
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Boy adopted by Tai-Ling Gigliotti

16 year old boy adopted at age 4 in Taiwan by his biological aunt Tai-Ling (Han) Gigliotti. She beat him for at least 3 years ending in 2009 when he escaped from the home after he was beat with a board and a hose. His arm was broken; he was covered with bruises and lacerations.
Date: 2009-02-11
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Spring Hill, Florida
United States
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Boy adopted by Tammy Renea Andrews

10-year-old boy adopted by Tammy Renea Andrews was allegedly tortured by his adoptive mother. The boy was repeatedly hit with the fist, a small baseball bat and a hammer. He was hog tied, and his tongue was pinched with a staple puller.

Tammy Andrews took the boy out of school to homeschool him.
Date: 2010-02-24
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Safford, Arizona
United States
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Boy adopted by Timothy and Karen Sue Tolin



A 19-year-old boy, one of 13 children adopted by Timothy and Karen Sue Tolin, was found locked in a caged bed covered in urine and feces.

Court records indicate that the Department of Human Services has a history of involvement with the Tolin family.

In 2010, the Huron County Intermediate School District and Ubly Community Schools petitioned Huron County Circuit Court Family Division regarding a charge the Tolins educationally abused and neglected seven minor children. A hearing was canceled after the Home School Legal Defense Association got involved.

One of the children adopted by the Tolins was placed with Tom and Debra Schmitz.

Karen Sue Tolin on her now defunct website admits to being a long time sufferer of Anxiety and Depression.

Date: 2014-10-20
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal neglect
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Disabilities: yes
Home schooling: yes

Location

Ruth, Michigan
United States
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Boy and girl adopted by Eraca Dawn Craig and Christian Jessica Deanda

An 8-year old girl and a 5-year-old boy adopted by Eraca Dawn Craig and Christian Jessica Deanda were starved, chained and abused by their adoptive parent. A 3-year-old boy, who was the biological child of one of the two women received similar treatment.
Date: 2014-03-21
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Salinas, California
United States
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Boy and girl adopted by Richard and Christine Dodson

4 year old girl and 5 year old girl adopted by Richard and Christine Dodson were abused by their adopters. The girl's leg and arms were broken and the boy was being starved and beaten. Both children were home-schooled. The boy was made to sleep on a mattress in a closet.
Date: 1995-07-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Placement

Organizations: Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services

Location

Round Rock, Texas
United States
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Boys adopted by Leslie Tiesler and Brad Thill

Three adopted boys were starved, shot with a BB gun, beaten with a spoon, and confined to a tool chest for days with only a pipe for fresh air. Thills adopted 4 boys in 2008, Leslie had a bio son. They divorced in 2010, but Leslie Tiesler continued to live in Brad Thill's house while he was overseas defense contractor. Tiesler, the non-adopted son and one of the adopted boys participated in the abuse. Tiesler claimed the boys were homeschooled. Forty-fve days after removal from the home, the 3 abused boys had gained 27, 20 and 10 pounds.
Date: 2012-05-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive mother, Adopted sibling, Non-adopted sibling, Undetermined
Home schooling: yes

Location

Cameron, North Carolina
United States
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Brian Edgar


9-year-old Brian Edgar, died of asphyxiation after his mouth had been taped shut and something like a sock had been stuffed in it.  According to the coroner, there were signs that Brian had vomited and that he had been bound around the chest with a belt.  In addition, the autopsy showed  Brian had been dead for several hours before being brought to the hospital. There were bruises on his cheeks and old marks on his wrists and ankles, suggesting he probably had been bound with a rope in the past. 

He was punished by his adoptive mother for stealing cookies.

Neil and Christy Edgar, pastors of God's Creation Outreach Ministry were also charged with abusing 3 other adopted children. Christy Edgar was referred to as a prophet, and reportedly claimed God told her to tie up children as a discipline method.

Date: 2002-12-31
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse, Lethal neglect
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

Overland Park, Kansas
United States
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Bruce, Michael, Tyrone and Keith Jackson

   

Four New Jersey boys who had been systematically starved by their adoptive parents, while state child welfare workers, in a bewildering series of errors, failed to make the most basic checks on the children over a dozen years. Bruce(19) was 45 lbs, Keith (14) was 41 lbs, Tyrone (10) was 28lbs,  Michael (9) was  23lbs. The boys were also beaten with brooms, rulers, sticks, shoes and belt buckles. Above is a family photo, a close up of Bruce and Bruce 27 months later.

Vanessa Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of endangering the welfare of a child. The boy's father died of a stroke before being convicted.
Date: 2003-10-10
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Placement

Organizations: DYFS' Southern Adoption Resource Center

Location

Collinswood, New Jersey
United States
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Calista Springer

Unpublished


16-year-old girl adopted by Anthony and Marsha Springer was systematically abused by her adoptive parents. She dies, while chained to her bed when the family home caught fire. Calista was taken out of school to prevent abuse investigations.

Anthony Springer received 10 to 15 years for first-degree child abuse and 25 to 50 years for torture.

Marsha Springer was given 95 months (roughly eight years) to 15 years for first-degree child abuse and 225 months (roughly 19 years) to 50 years for torture.

Note: This is a step parent adoption, hence it is unpublished, including all associated articles
Date: 2008-02-27
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal neglect, Lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Centreville, Michigan
United States
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  • 273 reads

Carmina Salcido (Cecelia Swindell)

 

At age three, her father Ramon Salcido, embarked on a killing spree, murdering Carmina's mother, her two sisters, two aunts and her grand mother. Carmina's throat was slit, but she managed to survive the massacre.

She was subsequently adopted by Clyde and Betty Swindell from Missouri, members of the ultra-conservative Catholic group "Tradition, Family and Property" (TFP). This family was chosen by her maternal grandfather as he and his family belongs to the same sect. The Swindell family abused her for years, including spending her trust fund, until she left the house at age 17. Carmina's story is told in the book "Not Lost Forever".
Date: 1989-01-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Sexual abuse, Non-lethal deprivation, Economic exploitation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

Missouri
United States
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Children adopted by Anya James

Six children adopted by Anya James were physically abused by their adoptive mother.The children were confined in small rooms with alarms on doors and windows to alert James if they tried to escape. They had to use kitty litter buckets as toilets. James homeschooled the children and allowed only minimal contact with the outside world.The children were malnourished because James severely restricted their diets, police say. Their growth was stunted to the extent they didn't go through puberty as teenagers, and some children had downy hair cover (Lanugo) due to starvation.

Between 2000 and 2010, James received $750,000 in adoption subsidies from the State of Alaska.
Date: 2010-10-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Anchorage, Alaska
United States
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Children adopted by Dwayne and Pamela Hardy

Two children, ages 6 and 9, adopted in February 2010, by Dwayne and Pamela Hardy, were locked in their rooms and not allowed to eat. If they were caught sneaking food from the garbage, they were paddled with wooden spoons or a belt, which was the "Christian thing to do".
Date: 2010-08-12
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Placement

Location

Altamonte Springs, Florida
United States
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Children adopted by Earnest and Windie Perry

Earnest and Windie Perry, adopted six children in total. Five of them were removed from the house after the couple was charged with eight count of aggravated child abuse. Their eldest, Elizabeth Perry, together with her adoptive mother Windie, was also charged with two counts of rape of a child and two counts of aggravated rape.

Earnest was acquitted. Windie and Elizabeth were convicted of  facilitation of rape of a child, false imprisonment, reckless endangerment and more involving 2 of the girls.
Date: 2008-07-10
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Sexual abuse
Abuser: Adoptive mother, Adopted sibling
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

Clarksville, Tennessee
United States
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Children adopted by Emily Miller

In November of 1999 the half-naked disabled adoptive son of Emily Miller was found tied to a plastic bucket partially filled with urine. During the examinations, it was revealed two children in the care of  Emily Miller had died earlier. First in January 1993, 4-month-old Ieisha Dyson died after being born with a significant birth defect and in April 1995 DuJuan Miller, Emily Miller's 2-year-old adopted son died, supposedly of sudden infant death syndrome.

All material kindly provided by Jack Kresnak President & CEO of Michigan's Children

Date: 1999-11-02
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Disabilities: yes
Home schooling: yes

Placement

Organizations: Michigan Department of Human Services, (Wayne County Family Independence Agency, renamed DHS in 2005)

Location

Detroit, Michigan
United States
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Children adopted by John and Carolyn Jackson

Three children adopted from foster care by John and Carolyn Jackson were allegedly assaulted with various objects by the adopters. The children allegedly sustained fractured bones, which no medical attention was sought for. Furthermore, the children were allegedly withheld food and water and were forced to to consume food that caused them pain and suffering, such as red pepper flakes, hot sauce, and/or raw onion.

One of the three children adopted by John and Carolyn Jackson died May 8, 2008.

John and Carolyn Jackson home schooled their children and claim the Department of Youth and Family Services persecute them for their religious beliefs. John E. Jackson is a Major in the U.S. Army.
Date: 2010-04-16
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

Mount Holly, New Jersey
United States
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Children adopted by John and Linda Dollar

Five children adopted by the Dollars who starved them, shocked them with electricity, pulled out their toenails with pliers, bound them with chains and strips of plastic and struck their feet with hammers. Twin boys, age 14, weighed 36 and 38 pounds when taken from the home.

The family included three girls, ages 12, 13 and 17; three 14-year-old boys (two of them twins) and a 16-year-old boy. One 14 yr old and the 17 year old were favorites and not abused. Dollar's also had an adult daughter, adopted as an infant, who had moved out of the home.
Date: 2005-01-21
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Placement

Organizations: Hillsborough County DCF (3 children in 1995)

Location

Beverly Hills, Florida
United States
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Children adopted by Judith Leekin



Eleven teenagers and young adults were held like prisoners in Trinidad native Judith Leekin's home in what appeared to be a decades-long scheme to line her pockets with the government payments she received for adopting and raising them. She adopted at least 11 children and fostered at least 22 children. One of the children an 18-year-old boy named Shane Graham, aka Moo, with autism, Down syndrome and needing round the clock care, is missing, and presumed dead. An infant placed with Ms. Leekin died in 1988 of "crib death".

The children did not attend school. The police and CPS investigated Leekin for abuse in 1999.
Date: 2007-07-30
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Economic exploitation, Death by unknown cause
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Disabilities: yes
Home schooling: yes

Placement

Organizations: Four separate NYC agencies: HeartShare Human Service, St. Joseph’s Children’s Services, SCO Family of Services, and New York City Administration for Children’s Services

Location

Port St Lucie, Florida
United States
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Children adopted by Kenneth H. Brandt

Three boys, 2 adopted and 1 pre-adoptive placement were raped by single father Kenneth H. Brandt. He allowed two other men to have sex with one of the boys. Brandt had adopted/gotten custody the 3 boys and a girl from Texas in 2011. The children briefly enrolled in public education, but were removed from school, to be home-schooled. Prior to the adoptive placements, Brandt had at least 6 foster children in his home.

Brandt pleaded guilty to 6 counts of rape and was sentenced to 60 years.
Date: 2011-03-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Sexual abuse, Sexual exploitation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Foster father
Home schooling: yes

Homestudy

Organizations: ACTION Inc

Location

Troy, Ohio
United States
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Children adopted by Lev Dzyuba and his wife

3 children adopted from Ukraine by Ukrainian natives Lev Dzyuba and his late wife Larisa Dzyuba were allegedly locked in their rooms for several months after Larisa's death from cancer. Lev's 2 sisters helped with the children, who were homeschooled, after Larisa's death.
Date: 2013-08-15
Placement type: Adoption
Institution: Моя семья My Family, near Kiev
Type of abuse: Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Other family member
Home schooling: yes

Facilitators

Organizations: Natalia Koval

Location

Conyers, Georgia
United States
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Children adopted by Nikki and Larry Russell

At least 3 of 4 children adopted from foster care by Nikki and Larry Russell were beaten, duct taped to their beds and deprived food.The 93 lb 17 year old was not in school, IcyHot was applied to his genitals and in his rectum. Russells also had a 5th biological child in the home.
Date: 2012-11-27
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Terre Haute, Indiana
United States
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Children adopted by Patrick and Sherry Kelley

In 2004, the Kelleys were accused of burning, beating, and slapping their five adopted children, 10 to 15 years old. Later investigation cast doubt on whether the evidence would hold up in court, according to prosecutors. In January 2007, Superior Court Judge Mike Wolverton accepted no-contest pleas to greatly reduced charges and released the Kelleys, who had served about 17 months in jail.

George and Shirley Long were accused of standing by while their adopted grandchildren were abused for years.

George Long, the adoptive grandfather, is found guilty of chaining his 10-year-old adopted grandson to a dog run.
Date: 2004-07-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother, Other family member
Home schooling: yes

Location

Wasilla, Alaska
United States
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Children adopted by Paul and Paula Dunham

Sexual abuse among siblings in a family of 24 adopted, foster and (9) biological children. Some of the children came from disrupted placements and/or were family to family adoptions. Eight of the children were originally adopted from the Philippines. Some of the children were home-schooled. At least one child had a history of sexually abusing girls prior to entering the home.

Criminal charges were filed against two of the Dunhams’ biological children and one adopted son. The biological sons were convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. The adopted son was found not guilty after a trial before a Stearns County judge, possibly because a sibling in Florida refused to come and testify.
Date: 2008-11-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Sexual abuse
Abuser: Adopted sibling, Non-adopted sibling, Undetermined
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Placement

Location

Holdingford, Minnesota
United States
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Children adopted by Shelley Blair

A 12 year-old boy and a 13 year-old girl, the adopted children of Shelley Blair, were found wandering a busy road. The children were bruised and malnourished. Shelley Blair is now under investigation.

In 2003, Blair pleaded guilty to three counts of child abuse.
Date: 2008-10-23
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Placement

Organizations: DCS Tennesee

Location

Spring Hill, Tennessee
United States
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Children adopted by Sylvia and Michael Wenger

Four children adopted by Sylvia and Michael Wenger were sexually abused, kept locked,and were forced to eat their own vomit.
Date: 2001-01-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Sexual abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Chewelah, Washington
United States
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Children adopted by Travis and Stacy Yates

Two girls, out of six children adopted by Travis and Stacy Yates, were sexually abused by their adoptive father. The abuser confessed to the abuse in 2014, but was allowed to live with his wife and four of the adopted children, until being sentenced to 37 years in prison a year later.
Date: 2014-02-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Sexual abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father
Home schooling: yes

Location

Nixon, Texas
United States
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Children in care of Sharon Wilkerson

An adopted girl and foster child in care of Sharon Wilkerson were beaten with various instruments, including an arrow, a plumbing supply line, a curtain rod and hangers.
Date: 2010-10-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Troy, Missouri
United States
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  • 5853 reads

Children in care of Wanda Sue Larson and Dorian Harper

An 11-year-old boy in foster care with Wanda Sue Larson and Dorian Harper was found on the porch in his underwear, handcuffed and a dead chicken tied around his neck. Wanda Sue Larson and Dorian Harper also had four adopted children which were underfed, and regularly chained to pieces of rail road. Larson was a supervisor for the Union County Department of Social Services, North Carolina.
Date: 2013-11-18
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Monroe, North Carolina
United States
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  • 5503 reads

Children placed with Todd and Lisa Mortensen

12-year-old girl placed with Todd and Lisa Mortensen was sexually abused by her "foster father". The placement was a private arrangement with the adoptive family of the girl.

In 2004, Todd Mortensen was charged with 65 counts of criminal sexual penetration and 20 counts of criminal sexual contact against another girl placed with his family. All 85 counts were dismissed by the prosecutor in 2005 because the girl was deemed mentally unstable to testify.
Date: 2010-04-01
Placement type: Foster care
Type of abuse: Sexual abuse
Abuser: Foster father
Home schooling: yes

Location

Farmington, New Mexico
United States
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  • 7385 reads

Christopher Forder



8-year-old Christopher Forder stricken with pneumonia, heavily bruised and nearing death, only to call 911 after he had dies. Kimberly Ann Forder, Christopher's adoptive mother abused and neglected him to the point of death, never seeking outside medical help as his pneumonia grew worse. Adoptive father Robert Forder was not charged, though he also did not call for help.

Kimberly and Bob Forder homeschooled and home-churched the children. They did not seek modern western health care treatment the children. They told police Christoper's injuries were due to reactive attachment disorder.

In addition to Christopher, who was adopted from Oregon DHS, Forders had 3 adult bio children and 4 adopted or foster children. In 2005, after Christopher's death, they adopted a set of infant triplets from Liberia with the assistance of West African Children Support Network (WACSN). In 2006, the Forders and the 7 remaining minor children moved to Liberia to serve as missionaries. Around the same time, one of their adult bio children was charged with raping another of their adult children.

In December 2007, the 7 adopted children were returned to Washington state from Liberia after Bob Forder had left them at a WACSN orphanage.
Date: 2002-11-22
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Lethal neglect
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Placement

Location

Seabeck, Washington
United States
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Chrystal Ramirez (Chrystal Camarillo)

    

8-year-old girl, adopted by Rubin Stephen and Bettie Ramirez, was starved, had her arms and legs tied with tape, and was beaten with a cane to the point her brain and skull began bleeding. Her 10 year old sister and 6 year old brother were in the same home. CPS had been contacted numerous times.
Date: 2007-08-24
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

San Antonio, Texas
United States
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  • 9879 reads

Colin David Jones

6 year old boy adopted by Jami Lea Jones and Louis David Jones died 4 days after being rushed to the hospital, cause is not yet released. News videos report 1 of the other 5 children in the home was adopted, and that the Joneses were a homeschooling church-going family. Both parents were found guilty of malice murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Date: 2009-12-24
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Loganville, Georgia
United States
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  • 10774 reads

Dennis Gene Merryman (Denis Uritsky)

   
8 year old boy adopted by Samuel and Donna Merryman. Died after suffering cardiac arrest brought on by starvation. He weighed 37 pounds, 2 lbs less than his weight at adoption. Both adoptive parents were arrested and charged with manslaughter and first degree child abuse resulting in death and reckless endangerment. He was adopted along with his older brother and 2 older sisters from Ochyor, Perm region, Russia almost 5 years before.
Date: 2005-01-22
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Placement

Location

Whiteford, Harford County, Maryland
United States
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Dominick J. (Andrew) Diehl

 

13 year-old boy adopted by Michael and Karen Diehl was beaten to death by the couple as result of their fundamentalist Christian belief in strict discipline. The other children, 12 adopted and 4 biological, may not have been physically abused. Many of the children had special needs or disrupted placements. While the family  of 19 was on a 2 year school bus trip and became heavily involved in the Virginia fundamental faith community.
Date: 1986-10-29
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Disabilities: yes
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Placement

Organizations: Adoptions in Idaho
Persons: Sue Smith

Location

Virginia Beach, Virginia
United States
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Elsa Garcia aka Esther Alice Combs

 

Elsa Garcia was taken from Baptist Children's Home in Valparaiso, IN by Baptist Minister Joseph and Evangeline Combs in 1978 at 4 months old. Raised as Esther Combs, she was never adopted, although believed she had been. She was sexually abused by Joseph  Combs and beaten by Evangeline. Mrs. Combs beat her with a baseball bat, burned her with a curling iron and pulled out chunks of her flesh with pliers, causing more than 400 scars on her body. She was beaten with a hose. She was treated as a family servant and did not attend school or homeschool.

The Combs were arrested in 1998. Joseph Combs was sentenced to 114 years in prison for kidnapping, rape, assault and perjury. Evangeline Combs was sentenced to 65 years for kidnapping and child abuse.

Date: 1998-01-01
Placement type: To be adopted
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Sexual abuse, Non-lethal deprivation, Economic exploitation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother, Adopted sibling
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Placement

Location

bristol, Tennessee
United States
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Erica Parson



15-year-old Erica Parson was taken in by Casey and Sandy Parsons two weeks after her birth, and adopted two years later. In November 2011 she went missing, however the adoptive parents never reported this to authorities. Upon investigation allegations of continuous abuse were made.

Erica was abused and maltreated by her adoptive parents, who encouraged their other children to abuse the girl.

Note: Given the preliminary state of this case, the abuse has been labeled "non-lethal neglect" (for the failure to report Erica Parson's disappearance).
Date: 2013-07-30
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal neglect
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Salisbury, North Carolina
United States
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  • 7148 reads

Faith Raeanne Robinson

 

4-year-old girl adopted by Joseph and Jessilyn Robinson died of head injury consistent with being shaken violently. Faith and her bio half brother Jacob were apparently adopted together (domestic) while the family lived in Rhode Island.

Jessilyn Robinson was released from prison Jan. 30, 2015.
Date: 2008-05-28
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

Winchester, Kentucky
United States
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Five children adopted Bernie and Melissa Harmon

Five children were adopted by Bernie and Melissa Harmon, in 2008. The couple confined the children in an attic, barely fed them, hit them with a whip and kept them out of school. Bernie Harmon is also accused of child molestation.
Date: 2013-08-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Sexual abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Taswell, Indiana
United States
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  • 7694 reads

Five children adopted by Jeffrey and Rebecca Trebilcock

One boy and four girls between the age of 10 and 13, adopted by Jeffrey and Rebecca Trebilcock, were systematically starved. The eldest child, a 13-year-old boy weighed just 49 pounds, fifty pounds below average. He gained 25 lbs in the first 2 months away and more than 60 pounds 7 inches in the 15 months after he was removed from the house.

The Trebilcocks, whose 4 biological children (3 adult, 1 minor) were fully nourished, had a custom made alarm system installed to prevent the adopted children from entering the kitchen. They ate a vegetarian or vegan diet, which is encouraged, though not required, by the Seventh Day Adventist church. Becky had had weight loss surgery in Mexico and Jeff was obese.

Two children, a boy and a girl, were adopted from the Washington foster care system in 2004. In 2008, after Trebilcocks had been turned down for more foster care adoptions due to house size, they adopted the 3 girls from Haiti. They had just received an approved homestudy for another private adoption, allegedly for a child from Africa.
Date: 2011-03-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Placement

Organizations: Washington Department of Social and Health Services, unknown agency for Haiti adoptions

Location

West Longview, Washington
United States
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  • 8277 reads

Frances Smith and Christina Moore, foster daughters of Zion Dutro

Unpublished
Frances Smith and Christina Moore, foster children (bio nieces) of Zion and Glenda Lea Dutro were tortured and sexually abused for years by Zion Dutro. He also abused 4 biological daughters. Glenda Lea Dutro facilitated the abuse. Frances and Christina are shown 2nd and 3rd from the left.  Zion Dutro was a registered sex offender and on probation for a 1995 conviction for sexually abusing one of the 6 daughters. After his conviction, he returned to live with the family.The girls were homeschooled and the family attended a Pentecostal church. Dutros were attempting to adopt in Mexico when the adult daughters reported the abuse (again).
Date: 2009-01-01
Placement type: Foster care
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Sexual abuse
Abuser: Foster father, Foster mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

Antioch, California
United States
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  • 1871 reads

Girl adopted by Ardee Verlon Tyler and Penny Sue Tyler


Girl adopted from Liberia in 2005 at age 8 along with 4 sisters was tied with a rope during the day and restrained in the basement at night because she lied and urinated on the floor. She was forced to spend the night outside in the cold on at least one occasion for stealing a cookie. She was sexually assaulted by her adoptive brother Ashton Malachi Tyler. Her adoptive sister Nathania Dellare (or Dellrae) Tyler is also accused of restraining her.

She was being adopted by another family when the abuse came to light. It is not clear if the other 4 girls were abused as well. 

Ardee Verlon Tyler and Penny Sue Tyler, were convicted of felony child abuse and received 10-year suspended prison sentences. Ashton Tyler plead no contest to rape by instrumentation of his 9-year-old adopted sister, and was sentenced to 2 years. 21-year-old Nathania Tyler a 90-day suspended sentence for assault and battery.

Further information on this case can be found at: weepnomore.org

Date: 2007-10-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Sexual abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother, Adopted sibling
Home schooling: yes

Homestudy

Organizations: Oklahoma Home Study
Persons: Erlene Logan

Location

Fairview, Oklahoma
United States
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  • 9900 reads

Girl adopted by Kathryn and Kenneth Kreier

14-year-old girl adopted by Kathryn and Kenneth Kreier was forced to sleep outside, was withheld food and had her fingers fractured by her adoptive mother. The adoptive father failed to act to prevent the abuse.
Date: 2007-09-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father
Home schooling: yes

Location

Clyman, Wisconsin
United States
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Girl adopted by Paul Lavoe

Teenaged girl from Ghana was adopted by her relative Paul Lavoe and his wife, Amanda. She, along with Lavoe's biological daughter was beaten with electrical cords. The girls were homeschooled so that they could care for younger siblings.
Date: 2012-04-16
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father
Home schooling: yes

Location

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
United States
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Girl adopted by Samuel and Diana Franklin

15 year old girl adopted by Diana and Samuel Franklin was confined in a chicken coop, required to wear a shock collar, and had food and water restricted.
Date: 2012-05-30
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

Butler, Georgia
United States
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Girl adopted by Stephen Douglas James

12-year-old girls was sexually abused by her adoptive father. She was adopted with her three brothers by James and his wife, who home-schooled the children.
Date: 2001-12-04
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Sexual abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father
Home schooling: yes

Location

Bastrop county, Texas
United States
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Girl in care of David Kinghorn

David W Kinghorn was convicted of raping one of the girls in his home. David and Glenda Kinghorn had 2 bio children, adopted 4 children, then took custody of 8 or more children from disrupted adoptions, including Sasha Bignell from Ukraine. They moved from Minnesota to Arkansas when Minnesota CPS was investigating the situation. The 4 adopted children and possibly 3 more were originally from Louisiana.
Date: 2005-10-26
Placement type: Legal Guardianship
Type of abuse: Sexual abuse
Abuser: Legal guardian
Home schooling: yes

Location

Mena, Arkansas
United States
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Girl in UK, forced to become pregnant

16-year-old girl in the United Kingdom was forced by adoptive mother to get pregnant through artificial insemination. The divorced adoptive mother wanted to adopt another (4th) child, but wasn't approved. She then resorted to forcing her adopted daughter to get pregnant. The exploitation started when the girl was 14. The older 2 girls were adopted from country x by the US born woman (but permanent UK resident) and her Irish husband. The third girl was adopted after the divorce from 'country y' later identified as Kazakhstan.
Date: 2013-04-28
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Sexual exploitation
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

United Kingdom

Girl to be adopted by Ernest Richard Davison and Cynthia Joan Davison

5-year-old girl to be adopted by Ernest Richard Davison and Cynthia Joan Davison, had been bound at her wrists and ankles for a considerable time and was suffering from malnourishment. She has Down's Syndrome. There were 3 other special needs adopted and foster children in the home.
Date: 2005-01-01
Placement type: To be adopted
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

Beachwood, New Jersey
United States
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Girls adopted by Jessica Banks

Five girls adopted by Jessica Banks were beaten daily, fed spoiled food and hidden in a garage. Banks, a pastor of the Word of Life Apostolic Church, was sentenced to life in prison.
Date: 2005-05-09
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Sexual abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Placement

Organizations: Children's Way, San Bernadino

Location

Moreno Valley, California
United States
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Girls in care of Mercedes Farquharson

3 girls in care of Mercedes Farquharson allegedly were kept at a North Carolina property and prevented  from going to school or even making friends. It's alleged that the girls were forced to clear up after dozens of animals including dogs, sheep and chickens and that they were forced to perform hard physical labour in harsh conditions. It's also alleged that one of the girls was as young as seven when the forced labour began. The youngest girl was adopted, the other two girls were taken from their real mother in Southall, west London in the 1990s as she was having problems at the time with a difficult marriage
Date: 2006-03-13
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal deprivation, Economic exploitation
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

Monroe, North Carolina
United States
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Hana Grace-Rose Williams (Hana Alemu Befekadu) and Immanuel Williams

Hana Williams  Hana Grace-Rose Williams  Two videos, before and after Hana Williams

13-year-old girl adopted from Ethiopia in 2008, by Larry and Carri Williams, died after being forced to stay outside the home on a rainy night. Hana Williams had Hepatitis B and was adopted at age 10 along with an unrelated 7 yr old deaf boy, Immanuel from Kidane Mihret orphanage. Williams had 7 bio children.

Both adopted children were beaten with various implements, hosed off, and forced to eat wet sandwiches and frozen food outdoors. Hana was frequently locked in a closet and made to sleep in a barn. She was required to use an outdoor hose to shower and port a pot for elimination.

The coroner said Hana's cause of death was “hypothermia and chronic starvation caused by a parent’s intentional food restriction, severe neglect, physical and emotional abuse and stunning endangerment.” Hana had H Pylori and Giardia (easily treated parasites). Hana weighed 78 lbs, having lost 30 pounds in the year prior to her death, and was about the same weight as when she arrived from Ethiopia 3 years earlier.

The Williams attended several churches but were home churching around the time Hana died. The Williams read and recommended "How to Train Up a Child". Both children were homeschooled and beaten with a belt, wooden spoon, a plumbing supply rod, and a gluestick.
Date: 2011-05-12
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Lethal neglect, Lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Disabilities: yes
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Facilitators

Persons: Gail Gorfe

Post placement

Location

Sedro Woolley, Washington
United States
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Hannah, Noah, Molly and Joshua Carroll

Four children adopted by Kathleen and Timothy Carroll die under suspicious circumstances.

Chronology

  • 1991 Anne Marie, 19,  placed with the Carrolls in 1985. She attempts to burn family home in Madison Twp. and and subsequently placed in custody of the Ohio Department of Youth Services. She claims most of the care for 10 children in the house hold lies on her shoulders and her biological brother James.
  • Sept. 21, 1992, the first death: Hannah, 6, a Down syndrome child, dies. Parents say she was "doing fine" after household bleach was spilled on her three days earlier, but evidence showed the child suffered horribly, with chemical burns inside her lungs and over nearly one-third of her body. Until this incident, Greene County Children Services is unaware of the family, which had 10 adopted children, all with physical, mental or emotional problems. Originally from Massachusetts, they moved to Madison Twp. in 1990, and then to Cedarville two months before Hannah died. The agency's attempt to get emergency custody of the remaining children is denied.
  • October-December 1992, three more deaths: A 1-month-old child, Chloe, who was born with only a brain stem and no brain, dies Oct. 19 in the care of the Columbus adoption agency that had placed her with the Carrolls. On Nov. 15, Noah, 3, a "crack" baby who suffered brain damage and seizures, dies. Officials express extreme concern after Mollie, a 3-year-old with mental retardation and severe allergies, appears to have been dead for 12 hours before she was found Dec. 9. County Juvenile Judge Robert A. Hagler removes the remaining children from the home, but returns them two days before Christmas.
  • January 1993, a guilty plea: Kathleen and Timothy Carroll, originally charged with involuntary manslaughter, plead guilty to child neglect charges in Hannah's death, admitting they should have sought medical treatment for her burns. They are placed on five years' probation and they agree to adopt no more children without prior court consent.
  • June 1993, the fifth death: After several months of little activity in the case, Josiah, a 12-year-old with cerebral palsy, dies. Again, officials become alarmed and ask for removal of the remaining children, but the request is denied.
  • July 1993, the inquest: The county's first inquest in a decade produces inconsistencies between experts' testimony and family members' stories about the deaths, and Judge Hagler removes himself from the case, citing innuendos about his objectivity.
  • August 1993, the charge and the removal: The family's eldest son, James, then 17, is charged with delinquency by reason of involuntary manslaughter because he was supervising Hannah at the time of the injury that caused her death. The new judge in the case, Richard T. Cole, orders Samuel, then 5, and Isaiah, then 11, removed from the Carroll home and placed in foster care.
  • October 1993, the exhumations: Despite the Carrolls' protests, the bodies of Mollie and Josiah are exhumed from their Preble County graves to allow further investigation of their deaths.
  • November 1993, the trial: After a three-day trial, Cole acquits James of all charges. The family then spends several days trying to convince Cole to return Samuel and Isaiah to the home.
  • December 1993, the custody ruling: In a harshly worded decision, Cole tells the Carrolls that their two handicapped children will stay in foster care at least for a while because the Carrolls have no plan to care for them and have refused outside help.
  • April 1994, the battle resumes: The Carrolls again argue to get their children back, and they also ask that their probation be lifted. They're denied on both counts.
  • May 1994, home visits begin: Previously visiting Samuel and Isaiah at the Children Services Board's office, the Carrolls are elated to have their children come to their home for visits.
  • June 1994, a new accusation: Officials file for permanent custody of Samuel and Isaiah and ask that James be kept separate from them. Prosecutors say Isaiah, who cannot speak, implicated James in Josiah's death. After a lengthy custody hearing, Cole rules that home visits can resume as long as James is not present.
  • November 1994, in court again: Questions linger about the deaths. Meanwhile, officials try to get permanent custody of Samuel and Isaiah, saying that the Carrolls, even after more than a year of working with Children Services, still fail to acknowledge how much care the youngsters need. The Carrolls say, however, that they're determined to demonstrate that the children would do best living with them.
  • May 1995, Samuel and Isaiah return to the Carrolls
  • October 1997 Carrolls regained the right to home school Samuel and Isaiah

Despite being called a homicide, no one was ever charged in the case of Noah.
Date: 1992-09-21
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse, Lethal neglect
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother, Adopted sibling
Home schooling: yes

Homestudy

Organizations: Montgomery County Children Services

Placement

Organizations: Adoption by Gentle Care, Project Impact Inc., Cuyahoga County Children Services Board

Location

Cedarville, Ohio
United States
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Jackie Zudis (Thi My Lan Nguyen)

Thi My Lan Nguyen, a 5 year old girl from Vietnam brought to the US by Vietnam veteran, George Joseph England in 1972, was molested for 11 years by her father. After he was convicted in 1977 of molesting 3 of her playmates, he jumped bail, took the girl and assumed a different identity (Stephen Arthur Seagoe). England was caught in Florida in 2005.

England took the girl to Thailand, India and Japan before entering the US. It is not clear if he adopted her in another country prior to entering the US, or how he was able to bring her into the country. He told co workers she was his adopted daughter and that he homeschooled her.

Date: 1977-01-01
Placement type: To be adopted
Type of abuse: Sexual abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father
Home schooling: yes

Location

orange county, California
United States
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Jasmine and Minnet Bowman



Three girls, 7, 9 (Jasmine) and 11 (Minnet) were adopted by Renee Bowman. The seven-year-old girl, was severely abused and neglected, had open sores and lesions on her buttocks and lower thighs, marks on her neck made by a cord, rope or other item and bruises on her hands and lips. She was found by authorities after having managed to break out of the house where she was locked up. Upon investigation of the abuse case, police found the remains of the two other girls in a basement freezer, where they had been for seven months.
Date: 2008-09-27
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Homestudy

Organizations: Board of Child Care

Placement

Organizations: District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency

Location

Lusby, Maryland
United States
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Joseph Beebe

Eight year old boy and one of six children adopted by Brian and Edith Beebe. All children were beaten with a rod, locked in a room without food or water and sometimes dragged by their hair. Joseph died, his body covered with bruises from beating with a bamboo rod. The Beebees were adoptive parents to 6 special needs children, Joseph was one of a set of triplets adopted.
Date: 2000-03-17
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother, Non-adopted sibling
Disabilities: yes
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Homestudy

Placement

Organizations: Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Alternatives In Motion, Children's Protective Services in Harris County, (Joseph+3), Alternatives In Motion (2 children)

Location

Tarkington Prairie, Texas
United States
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Lucas Ciambrone (Pedro Garcia)

7-year old boy adopted by Joseph and Heather Ciambrone Lucas was diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder by Foster Cline.

In addition to being forced to sleep in a bathroom stripped of towels, soap, toilet paper, and light bulbs;  he was fed through a bucket.  Lucas was thrown to the floor, kicked in the penis, punched, and had his head held under water.  He had been picked up by his ears in such a way, they were nearly pulled from his head.  According to the chief medical examiner,  the degree of injury to the head and nine different breaks or fractures to the ribs were indicative of child abuse, and could not have been caused by an accident, or been self-inflicted.  In addition, when the boy was admitted to the hospital, his body temperature was 84 degrees, suggesting the death blow came at least four hours before Heather and Joe Ciambrone drove him to the hospital.

Autopsy reports indicate at the time of death, the boy weighed only 32 pounds, with a height of only 41 inches.

Joseph Ciambrone - by his own admission - did nothing to keep the child from being kept naked in the bathroom of the family's Rubonia home and did nothing to alleviate the boy's malnutrition.

Date: 1995-05-13
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Attachment Therapy

Persons: Foster Cline

Location

Rubonia, Florida
United States
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Lydia and Zariah Schatz



8-year-old Lydia and 11-year-old Zariah (or Zacharia) were adopted from Liberia along with a infant girl by Kevin P. and Elizabeth H. Schatz in 2007. Lydia had been beaten with a 15 inch tubing for hours for misspelling a word during a home schooling sessions, and died as a result. Zacharia was taken to the hospital in critical condition due to kidney failure, among other injuries. Both parents are charged with murder. They also were charged with cruelty due to bruises on their biological 10 yr old son The Schatz's had 6 biological children.

Kevin Schatz pled guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 22-to-life. Elizabeth Schatz pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 13 years.
Date: 2010-02-06
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother, Undetermined
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Homestudy

Placement

Post placement

Location

Paradise, California
United States
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Nathaniel Michael Craver - (Ivan Skorobogatov)



Seven-year-old boy, adopted from Russia by Michael and Nanette Craver, was beaten to death by his adoptive parents. Together with his twin sisters Elizabeth (Dasha), the boy was adopted from the Chelyabinsk region, in 2003. Both children were home schooled.

Nathaniel body had nearly 80 external injuries – 20 of them to his head. Cravers were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and conspiracy.
Date: 2009-08-19
Placement type: Adoption
Institution: Dom Rebyenka #9, Troitsk, Chelyabinsk
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Dillsburg, Pennsylvania
United States
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Phoebe and Joseph Dinkler

Siblings from Ukraine adopted 5 years prior to the abuse allegations by Georgia couple Earl and Deborah Dinkler. The children had been forced to run 15 laps around the property before breakfast "just about every day" for the last four years. If the parents weren’t satisfied with their children’s speed, they would be punished with a belt, a miniature baseball bat or a bamboo rod. The Dinklers also withheld food and water as punishment.
Deborah Lynn Williamson-Dinkler pleaded guilty, and Earl Thomas Dinkler was convicted of cruelty.
Date: 2007-08-09
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

McDonough, Georgia
United States
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Pridine Fru

Actress and talk-show host Pridine Fru was imprisoned and physically and sexually abused by her adoptive parents, Joseph and Evelyn  Djoumessi, from the time she was illegally adopted at age 14 until she was rescued at age 17.
Date: 2000-02-24
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Sexual abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Farmington Hills, Michigan
United States
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Ricky Holland (Ricky Gann)


For years Ricky had been maltreated and abused by his adopters Tim and Lisa Holland. In July 2005 he was killed by the couple parents and dumped in a swamp, claiming he had disappeared. Eventually Tim Holland led the police to the body on Jan. 27, 2006. Hours later, authorities picked up in connection with Ricky's death. Lisa and Tim Holland are in prison -- she for life and he for 30 to 60 years. 
Date: 2005-07-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Placement

Organizations: Family Services & Children's Aid in Jackson

Location

Summit Township, Michigan
United States
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Samuel Hudson (David) and five other adopted children of William and Cynthia Hudson



Samuel Hudson, 13 years old, was killed on December 2008. Cynthia Hudson, his adoptive mother, is charged with capital murder in his death. Officials said Samuel was restrained and beaten to death with a broom handle, rake, computer cord, and baseball bat. William Hudson has been arrested on a tampering with evidence charge in the death of his adopted son.

Children reported being beaten with a fishing rod, a water hose, a metal bat, a paddle and their mother's fist. One child reported having to hold pepper in her mouth. They were confined to a prayer room at times.

The Hudsons are also being investigated for allegedly injuring their other five adopted children. Samuel's natural mother, Rebecca Henson and her husband, are seeking custody of the his two bio siblings, also in the Hudson's family
Date: 2008-12-09
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Placement

Organizations: Texas CPS

Location

Queen City, Texas
United States
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Sean Paddock (Sean Ford)


Sean Paddock was suffocated by tightly wrapped blankets at age 4, by his adoptive mother Lynn Paddock, who had sought Christian discipline advice in the books of Michael and Debi Pearl. There were 5 other adopted children and 1 bio child in the home who testified that Lynn beat them frequently with flexible plastic rods, wooden spoons and other devices. Lynn Marie Paddock was convicted of first degree murder.

Adoptive father Johnny Paddock was not charged criminally, but a civil jury found he "aided and abetted" in Sean's death. The Paddock's left a Primitive Baptist Church to attend a "a smaller, fundamentalist church in Sanford that advocated wearing long dresses, avoiding TV and shutting out popular culture" (possibly a Pentecostal Church).
Date: 2006-02-26
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Placement

Persons: Deborah Artis

Location

Johnston County, North Carolina
United States
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Six children adopted by Martin and Kathleen O'Brien

Six children (four of whom from Russia, and 2 of whom are from Guatemala) adopted by Martin and Kathleen O'Brien were allegedly abused by their adoptive parents.The Russian children were bio siblings adopted in 2004 at approximately ages 5-11. Some of the children were homeschooled.

The O'Briens are charged with:
  • Stripping the children naked as part of punishment.
  • Dragging the children by their arms while the children were naked.
  • Kicking the children in the groin.
  • Spraying the children in the face and on the neck and chest with pepper spray.
  • Bending a child’s arm into a “compliance-type” arm bar.
  • Hitting the children with a stick.
  • Slapping the children in the face.
  • Stabbing one child in the hand with a knife.
  • Grabbing children by the throat and lifting them off the ground.
  • Striking children in the groin with a knee.
  • Picking one child off the floor by an ear causing the ear to tear and bleed.
  • Striking children with a ruler.
  • Placing one child in a “bin” while Martin O’Brien struck the outside of the bin with a log.
  • Striking one child in the chest with a flashlight
  • Forcing the adopted children to eat frozen loaves of bread off the floor before bedtime while the biological children watched.
  • Forcing the children to stand naked in the snow three to four times a year.
  • Locking the children in a bedroom for four to five days at a time.
  • Beating the children with a belt.
  • Choking one child because of a prayer he said
Date: 2011-08-03
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
United States
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Three children adopted by Charles and Suzan Sealock

A nine-year-old girl, a seven-year-old boy and a six-year-old boy adopted by Charles and Suzan Sealock were physically abused by their adoptive parents. The seven-year-old boy was being locked in his room.

The Sealocks had a child of their own who showed no sign of abuse.
Date: 2014-09-07
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

Dandridge, Tennessee
United States
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Three children adopted by Jim and Paige Nachtigal

A 15-year-old girl,  an 11-year-old boy, an 11-year-old girl, adopted by Jim and Paige Nachtigal,  were beaten, starved, and tortured by their adoptive parents,  The children were taken out of public school in 2014 to be homeschooled.
Date: 2016-02-16
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Foster mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

North Newton, Kansas
United States
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Three children adopted by Phillip and Kimberly Loesch

Three children adopted by Phillip and Kimberly Loesch in 2008 were deprived of food and were harshly disciplined. Physical beatings consisted of strikes to the hands, head and buttocks with leather "spanking sticks" to the extent the children's hands were swollen and not able to be closed, the affidavit alleges.

The chidlren were also required to put their hands in cold buckets of water as punishment too, or to limit the swelling from the assaults. Using the bathroom was allegedly allowed only with the parents' permission, which sometimes forced the children to have to relieve themselves in their rooms.

One boy was allegedly required to wear a cardboard box on his head to limit his looking around as a punishment to keep him from socializing. The children also slept on the floor for several months with no mattress, pillows, sheets or covers, according to the court records.
Date: 2013-07-15
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

Readmond Township, Michigan
United States
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Timothy Boss


10 year old adoptive son of Donald Boss jr. and Lisa Boss Green was killed by the couple and buried in the basement. Timothy was adopted in Michigan,  but the Boss's informed Michigan authorities that the child was living in Iowa in order to receive monthly subsidy checks from Michigan.
Date: 2000-02-23
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Disabilities: yes
Home schooling: yes

Location

Remsen, Iowa
United States
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Twins adopted by Sandra Weller

16-year-old twin boy and girl adopted at age 2 from The Philippines by Sandra Weller  had food systematically withheld and were physically abused by Sandra and stepfather, Jeffrey Weller. Sandra's first husband Tim Graf is their legal father.
Date: 2011-10-20
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother, Other family member
Home schooling: yes

Location

Vancouver, Washington
United States
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Two children adopted by Ingrid Brewer

Palmdale resident Ingrid Brewer reported to the sheriff's department that her two adoptive children were missing on January 15. Deputies searching for the children, an 8-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl, found them lying near a parked vehicle on a street near their residence hiding under a blanket. The children were not wearing warm clothing despite temperatures in the mid-20s.

The two children told deputies they ran away from Brewer because they were tired of being tied up and beaten by her. They told deputies that Brewer locked them up in separate bedrooms when she went to work every day, and that on numerous occasions she tied their wrists with zip-ties and beat them, sometimes with an electrical cord or a hammer. They were also reportedly deprived of food.

Both kids had injuries consistent with their descriptions of abuse, including wrist marks indicating zip-tie restraint.

Date: 2013-01-15
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Placement

Organizations: Aspiranet

Location

Palmdale, California
United States
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Two children adopted by Kate Parker

Two girls, aged 4 and 5, adopted from Ukraine by Kate Parker were medically abused by their adoptive mother. The two girls as well as one of Parker's biological children, underwent numerous medical procedures based false accounts by their adoptive mother.

Parker also sought and received donations based on made up stories.

One of the adopted girls was re-homed.
Date: 2014-04-01
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Medical abuse
Abuser: Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Placement

Organizations: Reece's Rainbow

Location

Grant Pass, Oregon
United States
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Two girls adopted by Johann and Kimery Jorg

Two girls, aged 11 and 13, adopted five years prior by  Johann and Kimery Jorg were systematically abused by their adoptive parents. Both girls were made to sleep outside using a bucket for a bathroom, and they were not allowed to wear clothes. They were forced to run barefoot in the heat for hours and beaten with a wooden paddle as punishment for supposed “lying and stealing”. The older girl’s hair was also shaved off as punishment. They were systematically deprived of food.
Date: 2014-05-30
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

Peoria, Arizona
United States
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Tyler Sullivan

17-year-old boy adopted by Wilson and Brenda Sullivan, was found caged in a crib and weighing 49 pounds by the Ohio state Department of Children and Families . Wilson Sullivan died in the middle of the trial. Brenda Sullivan got 20 years imprisonment.
Date: 2005-03-08
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Placement

Organizations: Stark County Children Services

Location

Jacksonville, Ohio
United States
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Vicky Dawn Louise Rinkel

9-year-old girl adopted by Stanley and Nellie Rinkel died as a result of a head injury, upon autopsy another head injury was found and more than 100 bruises. In 1997 her death was called a homicide, yet no one was ever charged.

Vicky was adopted a few months prior to her death.
Date: 1993-10-15
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse
Abuser: Undetermined
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Location

Hooker, Oklahoma
United States
See map: Google Maps
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Victor and Nubia Barahona (Doctor)



10-year-old twins adopted by Carmen and Jorge Barahona were physically abused. Florida Department of Children and Families investigated the family on several occasions. On February 14, 2011, Victor was found by the side of Interstate 95 doused in chemicals, his adoptive father had poured gasoline on himself and his adopted son, with the plan to set himself and the boy on fire. Police found the dead body of Nubia wrapped in plastic in the bed of the pickup.
There were 2 other adopted children in the home.
Date: 2011-02-14
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Lethal physical abuse, Sexual abuse, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes

Location

West Palm Beach, Florida
United States
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Viktor Alexander Matthey (Viktor Sergievich Tulimov)


Viktor Matthey: age 6, of Hunterdon County, New Jersey died of cardiac arrest due to hypothermia after adoptive parents Robert and Brenda Matthey locked him overnight in a damp unheated pump room. Viktor was also severely beaten by his adoptive father. The Matthey's attended a Pentacostal (AG) church and homeschooled their children. Both parents are sentenced to 10 years for confining Viktor to a pump room, 10 years for excessive corporal punishment and 7 years for failing to provide medical care. The sentences run concurrently. Viktor, along with twin bio brothers,  was adopted from Blagoschevensk, Amur, Russia 10 months before his death. The twins are now adopted by Robert's mother who has disavowed her son. Both Mattheys were released from jail in Fall 2008.
Memorial site: http://www.viktorspromise.org/
Star Ledger Special Report series http://www.nj.com/specialprojects/index.ssf?/specialprojects/viktor/main...
Photos http://www.nj.com/photos/viktor/
Date: 2000-10-31
Placement type: Adoption
Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation
Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother
Home schooling: yes
Fundamentalist faith: yes

Homestudy

Organizations: Bethany Christian Services, , Hawthorne NJ

Facilitators

Organizations: AMREX

Placement

Organizations: Adoption Alliance (CO)

Post placement

Organizations: Bethany Christian Services, , Hawthorne NJ

Location

Union Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey
United States
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Pound Pup Legacy