Cases

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.

Justin McBride and his half brothers Kevin and Kody Baden were adopted by Steven and Jessica Pribbernow in 2005. The couple had previously adopted a boy named Steven Jeffrey Lewis. In 2006 the Pribbernow's divorced and soon after, Jessica Pribbernow married Josh Saylor, while remaining custody over the adopted boys and her two biological daughters.

In the morning of August 4, 2009, Steven Jeffrey went on a stabbing spree, killing Justin McBride and injuring Kevin and Kody Baden. During this episode, Josh Saylor was stabbed as well.

Three siblings adopted in 2003 by Kekoa and Kaylynn Gaunavinaka were systematically beaten by their adoptive father, allegedly the adoptive mother stood by and did nothing. The eldest, a 13 year old girl was also sexually abused by her adoptive father.

Kekoa Glenn Gaunavinaka is serving a life sentence for sexual abuse of his daughter and physical abuse of his sons. Kaylynn divorced Kekoa in 2010 and served 6 months in jail for covering up the abuse. She is barred from seeing the children as a condition of her probation.

2 year old boy from Guatemala adopted by Lois Saitta and her husband died of abusive head trauma 6 months after adoption. Lois Saitta pleaded guilty in exchange for a promised sentence of one year in jail and five years probation.

Misty and Tom Mealey of Virgina adopted a 4 or 5 year old boy from Guatemala in Dec 2008. There were 3 other children in the home. It was claimed that the boy was violent with the other children and urinated on toys. After several months of therapy, the Mealeys were told the boy had reactive attachment disorder and he would get worse before he got better. The couple reached out to local social services and were told unless they were abusive or neglectful, the government could not help them.
In July 2009, after being presented with a falsified homestudy, the Mealeys handed the boy over to Nicole and Calvin Eason, as a "temporary therapeutic placement".

Just 4 days later, NY State police took custody of the boy from the Easons and charged the Mealeys with neglect.  The Mealeys ultimately relinquished their parental rights and the boy became a ward of NY State.

1980's poster advertising China's one-child policy 

In 2003 after Social Welfare Institute in Zhenyuan County, Guizhou Province was approved for international adoption, the local family planning officials stopped seizing livestock from poor families and began seizing children.

At least 80 children, mainly baby girls, were taken from their family when the parents were unable to pay the 'tax' due on excess children. The children were placed in the local SWI and adopted internationally. The orphanage claimed all the children they placed internationally were 'abandoned'. Apparently the local orphanage and family planning officials split the orphanage donation.

Several boys adopted by or in foster care with Gregg Larsen were being taped with a hidden camera while in the bathroom. Larsen shared the material online and was arrested by the FBI. One of the boys reported the hidden camera to Hennepin County social worker in 2007, but nothing was done with that complaint.

5-year-old boy, adopted by Frank M. Lombard and his partner Kenneth Shipp was allegedly sexually abused by his adoptive father, Lombard. In a sting operation by Washington DC, Metropolitan Police Department, Lombard was arrested offering his adopted son for sexual exploitation over the internet. There was a 2nd child in the household. Shipp may have been unaware of the abuse.

Couple had two children removed because of what later appeared to have been an accident, yet because children had previously removed children it gave them the right to take every subsequently born child. When the couple were expecting again, they fled to Ireland, where social services seized the child.

A boy and girl adopted from Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan by Linda and Joseph Mayotte in 2004 were raped, the girl by her father, the boy by his mother. Sexual abuse began in 2005 when the children were 8 and 13. Linda Mayotte gave birth to a child fathered by the boy. Both parents were found guilty of multiple counts of abuse.