JUDGE ORDERS TRIAL FOR MIDDLETOWN MAN IN SEXUAL-ABUSE CASE THE ADOPTIVE AND FOSTER FATHER OF 28 CHILDREN FACES 21 CRIMINAL CHARG

Author: Evan Halper, INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF

After hearing half a dozen boys as young as 8 tell graphic accounts of sexual abuse by Thomas Cusick, their adoptive and foster father, a judge ruled yesterday that there was substantial evidence to bring Cusick to trial.

New charges were added yesterday against Cusick, who has taken 28 children under his care through the years and has maintained his innocence. Two more boys have stepped forward since authorities initially accused him of sexual abuse in October, bringing to seven the number of alleged victims.

An investigation of Cusick also is under way in Staten Island, N.Y., where he lived with the boys for several years before moving them in January 1998 to a four-bedroom house on Cottonwood Drive in Middletown Township.

Cusick, 47, had been free on 10 percent of $300,000 bail since being charged on Oct. 25. District Justice John J. Kelly Jr. doubled the bail yesterday based on the new charges. Cusick's girlfriend, Donna Robertson, posted the additional $30,000 with a large stack of cash, and Cusick was again released.

The two left the courthouse sullen-faced and holding hands.

Cusick could be sentenced to up to 291 years in jail on 21 counts of corruption of a minor, indecent assault and child endangerment.

All of the boys who testified at yesterday's hearing told similar stories. They said they would be in Cusick's upstairs bedroom watching television, playing video games or talking before the alleged sexual abuse occurred.

None of them said they were forced or threatened. Their testimony indicated that they had believed sexual contact with their adoptive father was appropriate.

Some of the boys said they would engage in sexual activity with Cusick weekly.

Assistant District Attorney Michelle Henry said in an interview yesterday that the children were adopted at an early age and that Cusick would start abusing them as soon as they came to the house. "It was something that became a way of life for them," she said.

One of the boys, a mentally disabled teenager, paused on the witness stand to look at his adoptive father and asked for Cusick's help as he told the judge the things that happened in Cusick's bedroom.

"Daddy, look up," he said. "Please. I need him to look at me. I want him to look at me."

The boy tried to approach and hug Cusick as he was helped off the stand. He then went to hug Robertson, who was sitting in the back of the courtroom. The two embraced and Robertson broke down in tears.

Cusick sat quietly as the hearing went on into the afternoon. At points he shook his head slowly.

The six boys who testified told of being abused when they were alone with Cusick and when other boys were in the room. One of the boys testified that Cusick would instruct him to engage in sexual activity with the other boys.

Another boy had to leave the courtroom after becoming choked up when the prosecutor started asking questions about what went on in the Middletown home.

Kevin Zlock, Cusick's attorney, would not say where Cusick's bail money came from. Cusick had told Kelly in October that he was unemployed and had been living in a basement apartment since police raided the Cottonwood Drive house on Sept. 28 and removed the 13 children who were living there at the time.

Cusick earlier had been the subject of glowing profiles in local newspaper stories that told of a successful artist who wrote music for popular television shows and pop stars. He told reporters at one point he was writing music for Ricky Martin.

But nothing has turned up to suggest that any of it is true. None of the artists whom Cusick said he wrote for has so far acknowledged having anything to do with him.

Police Detective Andrew J. Amoroso said last month that two children who lived with Cusick in Staten Island recalled social workers coming to the house to check on them after receiving an anonymous allegation of sexual abuse sometime after 1996. No charges were filed at that time. Police are trying to track down where the social workers came from and what reports they filed.

Caption:

PHOTO

Thomas Cusick and his girlfriend, Donna Robertson, leave the courthouse after a hearing. Cusick is charged with sexually abusing his adoptive sons. (MICHAEL PEREZ / Inquirer Suburban Staff)