Boy’s abuse by adoptive mom noticed on first day of school, might span years
by: Andrew Donovan, Adrienne Smith
CAMILLUS, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The woman accused of abusing an 11-year-old wasn’t only the boy’s foster mom at one point, she was most recently his legally-adopted mother, an Onondaga County spokesperson confirms to NewsChannel 9.
44-year-old Susan Orendorf was arrested Tuesday, facing multiple charges in relation to the alleged negligence of the boy.
Orendorf is charged with the following:
- Strangulation
- Unlawful imprisonment
- Forcible touching
- Endangering the welfare of a child
Wednesday, NewsChannel 9 obtained court records that detail each charge.
The boy was “handcuffed to the frame of a bed wearing only a diaper,” the document reads. It lists the possible dates of the crime as “2017 to September 7, 2022,” a five-year span that gives the most detail yet about how long the abuse may have taken place.
The woman is accused of “degrading or abusing him, specifically grabbing his genitals as punishment for urinating in his pull-up diaper.” This crime began as early as 2019, according to the court filing.
On or around September 4, Orendorf is accused of strangling the 11-year-old, which caused his “vision to go blurry and black and ‘see dots,'” he apparently told investigators.
Orendorf was arrested two weeks after the investigation was opened, which matches the same amount of time the student had returned to the West Genesee School District for a new year.
The Camillus Police Chief credits one of the district’s school resource officers with noticing signs of abuse in the boy who had previous experience with. The officer specifically saw changes in behavior and appearance over the summer.
The boy and a six-year-old girl are no longer in the suspect’s custody. She’s out of jail, having posted bail on Tuesday, and is scheduled to return to court Friday.
NewsChannel 9 spoke with Jarrett Woodfork, chief of the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office Special Victims Bureau about his office’s involvement in this case.
Woodfork could not disclose if the 11-year-old Camillus boy is being treated at the McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Center, but he wants to share how community collaboration sheds a light on the critical work being done behind the scenes for victims of child sexual and physical abuse.
“This is just another example of the horrible things that the officers, caseworkers and my ADAs see. But this is also another example of the motivation we have in these types of cases that give us the encouragement, the desire to push forward, and speak for those who can’t speak for themselves.”
JARRETT WOODFORK, CHIEF OF SPECIAL VICTIMS BUREAU, ONONDAGA CO. DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
If you suspect a child is being abused, you can call the New York State Child Abuse Hotline at 800-342-3720. Someone will answer your calls 24-hours a day.