exposing the dark side of adoption
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2012 May 30
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.
2012 May 25
4 biological siblings adopted by Kelly Morris are alleged to have been beaten and tortured.
2012 May 1
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.

Bethany Loerke

public
2012 Apr 22
Bethany Loerke was adopted from foster care at age 5 along with her younger bio sister. Sexual abuse by her adoptive father Dr. James Loerke began almost immediately and continued until Bethany told her adoptive mother when she was nearly 11.  James Loerke pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual molestation and was sentenced to 20 years, which was later reduced to 15 years.

At 20 years old, Bethany chose to waive her anonymity to help other victims, and to help others understand the connection between childhood trauma and later juvenile delinquency.

Benjamin Yhip

public
2012 Apr 18
   Benjamin Yhip - Taiwan

2-year-old boy adopted from Taiwan along with his twin brother by Dr. James Peter Yhip and Edelyn Magakat Yhip was killed by blunt force trauma to his head. Previously the boy had been hospitalized for malnutrition and broken bones.  Their daughter was adopted from China.
Both parents were arrested on suspicion of murder with Edelyn believed to have caused the head trauma.
2012 Apr 16
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.
2012 Apr 1
Some of seven children, adopted from the foster care system by Peter and Tamara Gable, were physically abused by their adoptive parents. The abuse consisted largely of cruel and unusual punishment.
2012 Feb 14
Adopted from Russia along with 2 bio brothers, Alexei Kelly (Alexei Nickolayevick?) was beaten by his adoptive father. Later, the family sold their farm and lived in a bus.
2012 Feb 10
Boy born Oct 16, 2006 in Hangzhou, China and adopted to the US by Rick and Deah Adams. Died December 3. 2011 from ingesting a large amount of vinegar. His death was ruled a homicide by the county coroner. Deah Daniele Adams was charged with reckless homicide.
2012 Feb 9
Boy purchased from a Russian woman at 5 days old in 2005 by an Australian gay couple (Mark J. Newton and Peter Truong) was sexually abused by them, by other men, and used in pornography before he was 2 years old until he was removed from their care in 2011 at age 6. He was abused in numerous countries including Australia, USA, Germany and France. When originally arrested in California by the FBI, the men claimed they were being targeted because they were homosexual.
It is not clear how long the men were in the US before the child was removed from their care. The boy was originally claimed to be the biological son of Newton conceived by surrogacy in Russia. He may have been adopted by one of the men while they were in California using fake paperwork.

Mark J. Newton (Australian-USA dual citizen), 42, was sentenced to 40 years in prison and $400,000 in restitution to the child. His boyfriend, Peter Truong (Australian), 36, pleaded guilty but has not yet been sentenced.