ADOPTION WORKER ACCUSED OF DELIVERING SICK BABIES
Boston Globe
Author: Associated Press
A Plymouth woman has been accused of delivering ill babies from Central America to unsuspecting adoptive parents, a newspaper has reported.
A suit filed in Suffolk County Superior Court by the state Attorney General's office also alleges that Suzanne Champney took a total of $50,000 from 25 couples but failed to deliver the babies and returned only $15,000, the Boston Herald reported.
The Herald said Friday Champney has been ordered to stop adoption work until she gets a license.
The 70-page complaint filed against Champney alleges that she arranged for the adoption of a Guatemalan baby who was near the brink of death when she arrived at Miami airport, the Herald said.
"When I unwrapped the baby, I discovered that her diaper had not been changed in some time and that she had scabs and infections all over her body," the adoptive mother, Tina Barber of Minnesota, said in the court document.
Barber said a healthy baby had been promised and that medical bills had cost her $35,000, according to the document.
Another child brought into the country died at the airport, the complaint alleged. The Attorney General's office asked that Champney be fined at least $300,000.
Champney charged Assistant Atty. Gen. Paul H. Merry with "just trying to make a name for himself," the newspaper said.
Champney told the Herald that she always acted in good faith and never misrepresented children's health to their prospective parents. She said she did not get a license because she worked with licensed adoption agencies rather than on her own, the paper reported.
Filis M. Casey, an official with The Alliance for Children in Needham, filed an affidavit saying Champney worked with the agency and "demonstrated her ability to act in the best interest of children needing homes, to operate in a professional manner. . ."
Another affadavit, filed by adoptive mother Christine Twyon of Medford, said, "Sue has always been very helpful and supportive. I believe she can be trusted and is working very hard to find children for those of us waiting.