Adoptive Parents Of 76 Charged

Adoptive Parents Of 76 Charged

November 23, 1993

Seattle Times

BEND, Ore. - A couple who adopted 76 children, most of them handicapped or unwanted, have been indicted on charges they mistreated many of the children and through neglect caused three of them to die.

Dennis and Diane Nason will be arraigned tomorrow on charges including manslaughter, criminal mistreatment, forgery, theft and racketeering. The Nasons say the accusations are fabrications of children who were abused by others. They likely will plead not guilty, said their lawyer, Lorna Dale.

The Nasons became known as "The Celebration Family," the title of a book Diane Nason co-wrote about their religious mission to adopt unwanted children. On the TV show "60 Minutes," they told how the children pitched in to help, and even those with serious handicaps became self-sufficient.

In juvenile court hearings, however, the children testified they were beaten and shocked with a cattle prod, and small children were neglected and caged in their beds.