Man guilty of child abuse, sexual assault for beating adopted teen
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Date: 2011-02-08
Source: gazette.com
LANCE BENZEL
An El Paso County man faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison after a jury Tuesday convicted him of sexual assault and multiple counts of felony assault and child abuse against his adopted teenage son.
Jeremiah Lovato, 40, listened in silence as 4th Judicial District Judge Robert L. Lowrey read guilty verdicts on 18 of the 21 counts against him.
The jury affirmed two guilty counts for which Lowrey initially said their written responses were "ambiguous."
Afterward, prosecutors and El Paso County sheriff's investigators lined up to convey their well wishes to the now 15-year-old victim, who sat in a front row flanked by supporters. He showed little emotion as the verdicts were announced.
The boy spent a week in the hospital after he jumped a fence and fled to a neighbor's house for help Jan. 3, 2010, rather than submit to another beating.
His name is being withheld because of his age and the nature of the allegations. The Gazette does not generally identify victims of sexual assault.
The jury of eight women and four men heard testimony during the eight-day trial that Lovato beat the boy with a piece of lumber, meat tenderizer, a belt and his fists while Lovato and the boy lived in Craig and then El Paso County.
The panel began deliberating Friday afternoon and reached its verdicts Tuesday morning.
The sexual assault conviction relates to the boy's claims that Lovato stomped on his testicles when he failed to stay still during beatings. A conviction carries the possibility of serving "the rest of the sex offender's natural life" in prison, according to state law.
Graphic photos of the infected wounds covering the boy's buttocks were shown throughout the trial to support the claim that the boy suffered serious injuries — a legal requirement for some of the most serious counts.
In acquitting him on three charges, the jury found there wasn't sufficient evidence to conclude Lovato choked the boy.
The jury also rejected charges that Lovato violated a restraining order and his bond when he drove by the boy's school bus stop on March 5, three months after the boy had been placed in foster care. The jurors, however, found that Lovato was guilty of similar crimes when he shouted "I love you" from his car while the boy was at a bus stop Feb. 3.
Lovato took the boy into his Craig home on Jan. 3, 2008, two years to the day from when the boy escaped. The two moved to the outskirts of eastern Colorado Springs after the adoption was approved in 2009.
School officials in Craig believed the boy was being abused more than two years ago and reported their suspicions to social services agencies. Social workers testified in the trial that they were unable to document the abuse and Lovato eventually took the boy out of school.
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What a DAD, what an adoption-story!
Well, we all know the adopted child was your typical RAD kid who needed a good lesson or two, and more than likely, the boy had problems that are consistent with the reasons Pertman gives to explain abuse and maltreatment in the adoptive home....
So, let's not fret yet another adopted child got hurt in his loving adoptive home, by his loving adoptive dad. I'm sure poor dad didn't know what else to do in his situation.... I mean, it's not like it was the adopted father's fault the kid had to be stopped before he could be told what to do.
<rolling eyes>
Let's review what a 15 year old boy has been through, post-adoption, shall we?
The boy spent a week in the hospital after he jumped a fence and fled to a neighbor's house for help -- so as to avoid beating. Nice.
The boy was beat with a piece of lumber, a meat tenderizer, a belt and man-size fists. Great.
The boy had infected wounds covering his buttocks. What young teen boy DOESN'T want such a thing?
The boy claimed he was choked, but some may argue the dear dad was trying to give the lad hugs, mere hugs, but the boy misinterpreted the move.
The boy was put in foster care, and then stalked by his loving daddy-dear, violating a restraining order. Wonderful!
And my personal favorite.... because what parent hasn't done this, when trying to reach a stubborn child... stomp on the boy's testicles when he failed to stay still during beatings. Bravo, DAD, bravo... you ARE the biggest man, aren't you?
Wait... it gets better. Two years ago, school reports were sent to social services indicating there was suspicious activity, suggesting the boy was being abused. But this stellar loving adoptive parent eluded authorities’ scrutiny by home-schooling him.
Well hold me down, and stomp on me with stilettos, because I am SHOCKED to learn an adoptive parent who takes the time to pass a parent training class, and home-study evaluation, and opens his heart and home to a child in-need, and then devotes MORE time and attention by homeschooling the lucky one, would in fact, beat the piss and shit out of that lucky adopted child. Why, it just makes no sense.... the child MUST have his facts wrong, because adopters would never do such a terrible, wrong thing to a child.
Yes, sometimes sarcasm and gross exaggerations help.... but not always.
I know adult men who had profoundly abusive adoptive dads. It's.... it's a tough long road, and I think in many ways, it's harder for a boy to recover from this sort of abuse, than a girl. I truly hope this unnamed teenaged boy gets the help and support he needs, because abuse after adoption is NOT the same as abuse before adoption.
At least there's some good news... it does bring some small comfort knowing this A+ Dad will get to spend the rest of his life with a bunch of guys who had dads just like him. If I were a better person, I'd almost feel bad for the man.