BETH LEBLANC ,  KARA BERG   The Detroit News

Lansing — Attorney General Dana Nessel charged two Lansing area couples Monday with 36 criminal child abuse charges, months after other similar charges against the foster and adoption families were dismissed.

The DeWitt couples are being charged in relation to eight of the 30 children who have been in their charge since 2007. Nessel alleged the couples' collected more than $1 million tax free through the adoption subsidy program.

Those charged include Joel Brown, a former child advocate for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services who faces five criminal charges; his wife Tammy Brown, who faces three criminal charges; Jerry Flore, who faces 11 criminal charges; and Tamal Flore, who faces 17 criminal charges. Nessel indicated the charges encompassed only those not time-barred by a six-year statute of limitations on abuse charges

"The state believes that the Browns and Flores conspired together to adopt dozens of children who were removed from previously abusive biological homes and subjected them to prolonged, routine, and systemic mental and physical abuse under the guise of discipline and all for personal financial gain," Nessel said.

By Pocharapon Neammanee

John and Katherine Snyder were sentenced in the death of 8-year-old Adam, one of five Chinese children the Ohio couple had adopted.

An Ohio couple who were found guilty of abusing their children, including five they had adopted from China, were sentenced on Thursday in the murder of an 8-year-old boy, Hamilton County prosecutors announced.

John Snyder was sentenced to 29 years to life and his wife, Katherine Snyder, was sentenced to 31 years to life in the 2016 death of Adam Snyder, who had been adopted from an orphanage in China, prosecutors in the Cincinnati trial said.

According to court records reviewed by HuffPost, the couple faced a total of 26 charges and earlier this month were found guilty of murder, felonious assault and endangering children.

KEVIN GRASHA   Cincinnati Enquirer

As John and Katherine Snyder were sentenced to possibly spend the rest of their lives in prison, a large, framed photograph of the boy they were convicted of murdering was positioned on a stand in the courtroom.

The photo showed a smiling boy, 7 or 8 years old, missing a few front teeth. The couple adopted the boy, Adam, from China in 2016, the same year prosecutors say the Snyders killed him.

"I want you to see him," Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Wende Cross told the Snyders at their sentencing Thursday.

The husband and wife, who are both 52, faced the judge and the photograph of Adam as they stood in the courtroom, their hands shackled behind their backs. The Snyders wore jail uniforms because they have been held at the county jail since being found guilty Nov. 17 of murder, felonious assault and child abuse charges.

John and Katherine Snyder were found guilty of murder, felonious assault and endangering children.

By: Andrew Rowan , Anna Azallion , Molly Schramm

CINCINNATI — John and Katherine Snyder have been found guilty of murdering their 8-year-old adopted son, Adam, in October 2016.

The couple faced a total of 26 charges. They were found guilty of murder, felonious assault and endangering children.

According to the prosecution, all of the Snyder children were malnourished, deprived of medical care and more.

By Nicolas Fernandes | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

A former U.S. Army major and his wife have been sentenced for the fourth time in the abuse of their three developmentally delayed adoptive children.

John E. Jackson, 48, and Carolyn Jackson, 46, were convicted of multiple counts of child endangerment in 2015 in the abuse of the children, who were all under the age of 4 at the time, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of New Jersey.

They were previously sentenced in 2021, with Carolyn receiving a 40-month prison term and her husband receiving 18 months of home confinement. The U.S. Court of Appeals then ordered a resentencing after determining that the district court failed to follow its directions to consider the children’s multiple injuries “holistically and in the context of the jury’s findings of guilt” in determining causation, officials said.

On Monday, Carolyn Jackson was sentenced to 11 years and 8 months and her husband was sentenced to 9 years.

Defense attorneys moved for mistrial earlier in day after learning of $55M claim on behalf of victim, his brothers

By Jessica Prokop

A Clark County jury Friday convicted two adoptive parents of homicide by abuse and second-degree murder in the starvation death of their 15-year-old son — after a chaotic morning in which the defense moved for a mistrial.

The legal motions came in a flurry after attorneys learned of a combined $55 million tort claim filed on behalf of Karreon Franks’ estate and his surviving brothers, now 16 and 17.

Seattle-based Davis Law Group filed the tort claims July 18 against the Washington Department of Health and Social Services and Department of Children, Youth & Families.

The criminal trial for the parents accused of being responsible for the tragic death of a teen boy nearly three years ago has commenced in Vancouver, Washington.

Prosecutors allege that Felicia Adams and Jesse Franks subjected 15-year-old Karreon Franks to extreme neglect and starvation, as he weighed a mere 61 pounds when he passed away. Adams (54) and Franks (58) are facing charges of domestic violence, homicide by abuse, and second-degree murder in connection with Karreon's death in November 2020.

They also face two counts of second-degree criminal mistreatment concerning Karreon's two younger brothers. 

Attorneys for Adams and Franks have argued that Karreon's severe medical conditions, which included developmental delays and autism, contributed to his death. They pointed to digestive issues and difficulties in keeping food down, highlighting that pneumonia was initially listed as the cause of his death.

The defense attorney for Jesse Franks emphasized the tragedy of a child's death and suggested that blaming the accused parents for it may not be justified.

By Ken Brown

CINCINNATI (WXIX) – A Springfield Township firefighter, who responded to John and Katherine Snyder’s home on the day of Adam Snyder’s death, testified during Day 8 of the trial on Wednesday, focusing on her demeanor when they arrived at the scene.

Lt. Matt Morgan said they were dispatched to the Snyder’s home when Katherine carried an unconscious Adam out of the house.

“Is it unusual to have someone carry carry the person out to you?” the prosecution asked Morgan.

Morgan said: “Yeah, it can be. It all depends on the circumstances.”

by: Lisa Balick, Aimee Plante

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – A new lawsuit is in the works as the Vancouver trial continues for two parents accused of starving 15-year-old Karreon Franks to death nearly three years ago.

Felicia Adams-Franks and Jesse Franks are accused of withholding food and water from their adopted son while he attended school remotely in 2020. However, a law firm representing the boy and his two younger siblings says that Karreon’s death could have been prevented.

According to the Davis Law Group, an investigation revealed that an initial complaint had been made in 2017 – nearly three years before Karreon died.

Prosecutors say the children were restricted access to food and given physical punishment, but the parents’ attorneys say Karreon had medical conditions that resulted in his death.

ANDREW WOLFSON   Louisville Courier Journal

Adopted at age 2 by Louisville Police Officer Sean Jackman — who eventually rose to lieutenant — Samantha Killary later alleged that he sexually abused her throughout her childhood, stopping only when she turned 18 in 2009. 

After she secretly recorded him admitting the abuse and apologizing for it, he pleaded guilty to multiple sex offenses and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, which he is still serving. 

She also sued him as well as other defendants, namely former Officer Linda Thompson, whom Jackman dated from 2001 to 2003, and his father, former Detective Sgt. Rick Jackman. She alleged both knew of the abuse and failed to report it, as required by law.  

And Killary also sued Louisville Metro, for employing and empowering them.