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Foster dad faces molestation probe

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Child welfare authorities have removed the young adopted son of a prominent Broward foster father, along with three foster children, amid an investigation into allegations the man molested a child in Massachusetts years ago.

John Michael McGuigan, who was raising a 4-year-old boy he adopted from foster care, appeared in court Friday after the Broward Sheriff’s Office, which conducts child-abuse investigations for the state, removed the little boy from his custody. Broward Circuit Judge Hope Bristol ordered McGuigan to have no contact with the youngster while authorities continue to look into the allegations. Follick declined to discuss the case in detail, except to say the agency is working closely with police who are investigating McGuigan.

He is a vice president of Broward House, an HIV/AIDS community service group.

Friday’s court appearance marked the second occasion McGuigan has had a role in a high-profile investigation involving a Broward foster child. McGuigan, 52, had twice been the foster father for Gabriel Myers, a 7-year-old boy who, while living with another foster family, hanged himself with a retractable shower cord two years ago.

A Source told The Miami Herald the investigation began after a man who used to live in Massachusetts, McGuigan’s home state, told authorities that McGuigan had molested him when he was a child. The sources said authorities interviewed a witness who corroborated the allegations.

2011 May 13