Adoption subsidies abuse cases

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

See map: Google Maps

age 1       undated

In 1998 Jeffrey Baldwin and a sister were placed by Catholic Children's Aid with his maternal grandparents Elva Bottineau and Norman Kidman, who had been convicted of child abuse in 1970 and 1978 respectively. The grandparents had been given custody of 2 other siblings earlier. Jeffrey died 4 years later, after he and his next oldest sister had been starved, beaten, locked in an unheated room and forced to drink from a toilet. Jeffrey was never toilet trained and denied schooling. The 2 other siblings were trained to treat Jeffrey and his sister as 'pigs'. Jeffrey died at age 5 of septic shock from pneumonia complicated by his starvation. He was covered with wounds and weighed 21 lbs; one pound less than he weighed for his 12 month doctor visit.

There were 6 adults and 6 children under age 10 in the home. Bottineau and Kidman used the children as a source of income.  Bottineau and Kidman were convicted of 2nd degree murder and sentenced to 22 and 20 years, respectively.

See also
Children's Aid Society workers should be reined in, critics say
Kevin Libin: Readers detail rarely-seen ugly side of child-protection agencies

Date: 2002-11-30

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Lethal neglect, Lethal deprivation, Economic exploitation

Abuser: Foster father, Foster mother

Location

Toronto, Ontario
Canada

See map: Google Maps

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

See map: Google Maps

10-year-old girl adopted from foster care by a New York City woman, was systematically tortured and had food withheld by Mary E. Mazalic. For about a year. Mary was the live-in girlfriend of the girl's 43-year-old adoptive brother, Derron P. Alexis. The adoptive mother, Genevieve Alexis, who continued to collect adoption subsidies for her care, sent the girl to live with her son and Mazalic in Washington State after she objected to a NY school district placing the girl in special education classes.

The girl was beaten with extension cords, belts, wooden spoons, and wire. She was burned with cigarettes, held underwater, threatened with a knife and a gun. She was starved, had water restricted and was not given her prescription medicine. She missed 36 days of school. The then 10-year-old weighed 51 lbs when she was removed from Mary's "care". She gained 13 lbs in her 2 week hospital stay and 20lbs since being removed from the home.

In 2009, a 16 year old in care of Mazalic and Derron reported to CPS that he was abused.

Mazalic was sentenced to 30 years jail for first-degree assault of child, criminal mistreatment and witness tampering.
D. Alexis has been charged first-degree criminal mistreatment for beating her, withholding food and medication. He will face court in 2013.

Date: 2011-09-19

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal neglect, Non-lethal deprivation

Abuser: Adoptive mother, Adopted sibling, Other non-family member

Disabilities: yes

Location

Mukilteo, Washington
United States

See map: Google Maps

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

See map: Google Maps

  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

See map: Google Maps

9-year-old girl adopted by her aunt was found dead found in a black trash bag, stuffed into a plastic bin with mothballs and locked in a storage unit near Flint.

Date: 2009-04-22

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse

Abuser: Adoptive mother

Location

Flint, Michigan
United States

See map: Google Maps

4 children aged 8 to 13, adopted by Harold and Sherry Johnson were beaten and starved. The Johnsons pleaded no contest to aggravated child abuse and malicious punishment

Date: 1988-10-21

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation, Economic exploitation

Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother

Location

Pensacola, Florida
United States

See map: Google Maps

Tom Cusick adopted or fostered 28 children, 4 girls and 24 boys. Most of boys were 8 or 9 year old when placed with him. Cusick was unmarried, but had a live-in female companion. At least 5 of the boys accused him of sexually abusing them.

Cusick committed suicide 2 days before the trial was to begin. Cusick claimed to be a famous composer, but apparently his income was only from foster and adoption subsidies.

Date: 1999-10-26

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Sexual abuse

Abuser: Adoptive father

Location

Langhorne, Pennsylvania
United States

See map: Google Maps

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

Location

Lusby, Maryland
United States

See map: Google Maps

Eight year old boy, adopted with his siblings Sharnea and Shamale, by Catherine Marie Hudson. Even before their adoption in 1996, when the three children were in Hudson's foster care abuse had been reported.

From April 18, 1996, through November 13, 1997, eleven different witnesses filed twenty-six child-abuse reports in writing to the Worcester County Department of Social Services (WCDSS) and to the state's attorney in Worcester County concerning the Hudson children. Reports were filed by schoolteachers, the school nurse, the school therapist, the vice principal, several teacher's aides, and a few summer program workers.

All reports were unsubstantiated except two, which "alleged that the previous foster parent and her son were responsible for injuries to the children" (even though the children had already been living with Hudson for two years)

In December 1996, WCDSS child protection staff met with the school staff "regarding the numerous reports of suspected abuse already filed with [the WCDSS] from the Buckingham Elementary School.

WCDSS officials told the school staff that they "were overreacting and that [the WCDSS] had seen worse."

The staff was intimidated by orders from the WCDSS not to send children to the nurse or counselor unless treatment was needed, "not to do extensive questioning or investigating," "not to question caseworkers as to when they are coming to the school," and "not to make follow-up calls to workers."

The WCDSS called the Board of Education, complaining that the school staff was harassing them. The school was "told that burns, cuts, bruises, and open wounds were not enough" to substantiate child abuse.

In January 1998, the WCDSS closed the case. On March 24, 1998, Shamir died "in the Hudson household, a sanctuary arranged, approved and supervised by the state, a place that produced no fewer than two dozen reports of suspected abuse in the past two years."

Date: 1998-03-24

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Lethal physical abuse

Abuser: Adoptive mother

Location

Berlin, Maryland
United States

See map: Google Maps

Five boys and two disabled women were locked in a basement cell, fed meager food, (like "doggie dew stew"), and rarely allowed to bathe. The Dickinsons were given an adoption subsidy consisting of federal, state and county dollars; they were paid $9000 a month to care for the seven.

According to reports, families adopting children who are disabled or are at least five years old are eligible for the subsidies, regardless of income, but under federal mandates do not have to disclose how they spend the money.

Date: 2007-09-19

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Non-lethal deprivation, Economic exploitation

Abuser: Adoptive father, Adoptive mother

Disabilities: yes

Location

Lancaster, Pennsylvania
United States

See map: Google Maps

Three teen-age children adopted from the foster care system were refused food, beaten and made to stand on a milk crate for hours by their adoptive mother. Shirley Allen received, in addition to her $600/mo. disability income, $1,500 per month in compensation for each of the three fostered/adopted children

Date: 2008-05-28

Placement type: Adoption

Type of abuse: Non-lethal physical abuse, Non-lethal deprivation, Economic exploitation

Abuser: Adoptive mother

Location

Loganville, Georgia
United States

See map: Google Maps

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

See map: Google Maps

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

Location

Port St Lucie, Florida
United States

See map: Google Maps