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Postby Marina » Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:39 pm

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http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.d ... /709170321

Ex-foster father charged with sex crimes enters plea agreement

By JOY LEIKER
[email protected]



NEW CASTLE -- A foster father accused of having sex with and impregnating a 15-year-old girl placed in his care has reached a plea deal with prosecutors.

Last week Darrin K. Reid, 38, was supposed to go on trial in Henry County Circuit Court, but his trial was canceled and a plea agreement hearing and sentencing now are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 24.

Court records don't reveal the details of the agreement.

Last October Reid was charged with two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, both class B felonies carrying a standard 10-year prison terms.

Reid, who is legally blind, lived in New Castle at the time of his arrest with his wife Traesha, but court records now list an Indianapolis address.

According to court documents filed last year, the girl spent about eight months in the Reid home, before she was discovered she was pregnant and removed from the home in August 2006. In that time, she said she and Reid had sex nine times.

When the girl told Reid she thought she was pregnant, he ordered a pregnancy test for her online. When that test confirmed the girl was pregnant, Reid, who is African American, instructed her to say she was sexually assaulted by a black man inside the rest room of the local bowling alley, as an explanation for the white teen delivering a mixed-race baby.

Reid told his wife the girl was pregnant, and then said they should take her to Indianapolis to have an abortion as a way to keep the pregnancy a secret from the Indiana Department of Child Services. Reid reasoned the state might take the girl away if she was pregnant.

It was only after Traesha Reid found a letter written by the girl and confronted her husband that he admitted he had sex with the girl.

It's part of a long string of problems and heartache in the girl's life.

She was first placed in state custody after both of her parents were put in prison. At first another relative agreed to take her in, but she was later removed from that home after authorities learned that relative previously had sexually abused another member of his family.

From there, she was moved to foster homes and youth treatment facilities.

Reid's license as a foster parent was revoked in September 2006 in the midst of the allegations and investigation of this case. He had been licensed since June 2004.

Even before the state paid him to work as a foster parent, a judge in Allen County restricted the time Reid could spend with his own children.

According to court papers provided to The Star Press by Reid's ex-wife Catherine, in October 2003 an Allen County Circuit Court judge ruled that Reid's "presently afforded visitation with his minor children might endanger the children's physical health or significantly impair the children's emotional development."

At that time, his visits were limited to one weekend a month, and two full weeks a year.

Marina
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Postby Marina » Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:37 pm

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http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.d ... /709180352

Plea deal could be revoked for former foster father

By JOY LEIKER
[email protected]

NEW CASTLE -- Henry County Prosecutor Kit Crane has asked that a plea agreement offered by his chief deputy be withdrawn because he didn't approve it before it was presented to the defendant, a foster father accused of impregnating a teenage girl assigned to his care.

Crane filed a motion to withdraw the agreement on Monday, the same day The Star Press reported that Darrin K. Reid had reached a deal with prosecutors.

In the papers filed Monday, Crane wrote that since May 2006, there has been a policy in his office that he must sign any plea agreement in a case involving a Class B felony charge or higher.

Crane wrote that the plea deal was filed Sept. 7, but he wasn't made aware of it until Sept. 12, when he looked at the file during a conversation with The Star Press.

Reid originally was scheduled to go on trial for those charges last week in Henry Circuit Court. He faces two Class B felony charges of sexual misconduct with a minor, each carrying a standard 10-year sentence.

According to the deal, Reid was to plead guilty to both charges, but serve the sentences concurrently. Six years would be suspended, and Reid would serve four years probation, with three of those years on home detention.

In his filing, Crane called the agreement "not acceptable."

The prosecutor said this wasn't the first time he's had to remind a deputy prosecutor about the office rule, and he didn't think it should reflect negatively on Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jerry Miller. Crane said Miller has worked for him ever since he took office in 1994.

"The prosecutor ultimately is responsible for every case. Some people might say don't you trust your deputy prosecutor's judgment, and I certainly do. This doesn't change that at all. Jerry's my chief deputy prosecutor and he's still my chief deputy prosecutor."

Reid's attorney, B. Joseph Davis, still could negotiate another plea deal in this case with the prosecutor's office, or the case could be reset for trial in Henry Circuit Court

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Postby Marina » Sun Sep 23, 2007 6:34 pm

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http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=3 ... tegoryID=0

Ex-foster dad now sexual predator

Thursday, September 20, 2007
BY Shane Hoover
REPOSITORY STAFF WRITER
CONLEY



CANTON
Once honored as a hero among foster parents, Richard E. Conley got a new label Wednesday - sexual predator.

Conley, 69, of Bethlehem Township, pleaded guilty to rape, gross sexual imposition, four counts of sexual battery, six counts of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles and misdemeanor sexual imposition.

He molested three boys over seven years ending in March, according to court papers. He also shared obscene material with two of them.

As part of an agreement with county prosecutors, Conley agreed to classification as a sexual predator, meaning he will have to register with authorities every three months for the rest of his life after he is released from prison. Three rape charges were reduced to sexual battery.

Stark County Common Pleas Judge John G. Haas sentenced Conley to nine years in prison, with the possibility of release to probation after five years.

Haas said he reluctantly accepted the plea agreement because it was in the best interest of the victims to avoid a trial.

"Everyone who has a say in this, wants this," Haas said.

ABUSE REVEALED

The first abuse allegations surfaced in October 2006 after a boy who was headed to Conley's home for short-term foster care jumped from a moving vehicle.

While getting medical treatment, the teen revealed that Conley had molested him, according to a civil complaint filed by the Stark County Department of Job and Family Services.

"It's because of him that it all came to light," Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Renee Watson said. "He is a hero."

In March, a second boy who had been in foster care accused Conley of molesting him and showing him pornography. That led to a search of Conley's home at 6700 Sherman Church Ave. SW, according to court papers.

During the search, a third boy said he was being abused and authorities learned that Conley had been staying at the home in violation of a court order.

The boy led authorities to Conley's garage and showed them a stash of pornographic material and videos, court papers show. The boy also said Conley abused him at various locations, including a storage building at Pathway Caring for Children, a foster care placement and adoption agency in North Canton that works with children having emotional and behavioral problems.

FACING VICTIMS

In 2002, American Electric Power honored Conley and his wife, Margery, for their foster parenting with a local "Salute to Heroes" dinner that was part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame festival.

He faced a much different reaction during Wednesday's hearing, which was attended by the three victims.

"I hate your guts," one of the boys wrote in a letter read to the court.

Conley thought he could intimidate his victims and get away with the abuse, but now he would get his punishment, the boy wrote.

"We trusted you, everybody trusted you, and you messed up big time," the boy wrote.

Neither Conley, nor his attorney made statements.

Pathway Executive Director Jim Bridges said he was thankful Conley pleaded guilty.

"We just didn't want the children to have to go through a trial," Bridges said.

Conley was a maintenance worker for Pathway, as well as a foster parent.

The agency conducts extensive background checks and home studies on its foster parents and caseworkers make regular visits, Bridges said.

"All these procedures were followed in this case," but the agency is looking to see if it can do something more to protect children in its care, he said.

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Postby Marina » Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:05 pm

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http://www.theeagle.com/stories/092307/ ... 923034.php

Updated 7:01 AM on Sunday, September 23, 2007

Man accused of assaulting girls

Eagle Staff Report



A Bryan man was charged Saturday with sexually assaulting a young girl and indecency with another child - both of whom he met while in foster care, according to authorities.

An 11-year-old girl told police in June that the teen touched her private parts on multiple occasions, documents state. The other girl, 14, reported that he pressured her into having sex with him, police said.

A third girl, whose age was not available, reported that she was pressured by the man to have sex, but it appeared to be consensual, according to police reports.

It was unclear Saturday if the three girls also were in foster care or members of the family with whom he was living. It's the policy of The Eagle not to name a defendant if doing so will identify a potential sexual assault victim.

Aggravated sexual assault of a child is a first-degree felony, punishable by up to life in prison and a fine not to exceed $10,000. Indecency with a child is a second-degree felony, punishable by two to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.

The man remained jailed late Saturday in lieu of $100,000 bail.

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Postby Marina » Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:19 pm

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/wrtv/20070925/lo_wrtv/14195364

Hospitalized Boy's Relatives Blast Foster System

Relatives of a 3-year-old boy who was found unconscious in a swimming pool while in foster care say the state's child welfare system failed him.

Bruce Rawnsley (pictured) was in a coma and in critical condition at an Indianapolis hospital Monday after being pulled from a pool Saturday, his family said.

A Martinsville-area foster family was baby-sitting Bruce for the foster family to which he was assigned when he got to a neighbor's pool, according to his relatives.

"I told them time and again, you can't turn your back on him -- not for one second. He is fast," his mother, Kathleen Lawrence, told 6News' Ben Morriston Monday.

State child welfare workers took Bruce and his three siblings from Lawrence two months ago. A hearing on whether the Indianapolis woman could get her children back was postponed last week, before the pool incident.

"They're supposed to be in protective service. (The children) are more protected with their mother than what they are in the system," said Bruce's grandmother Carolyn Lawrence.

Bruce's baby sitters told investigators that the child was out of their sight for just minutes. Kathleen and Carolyn Lawrence told 6News that they should have known he had a tendency to wander.

The Indiana Department of Child Services and the Morgan County Sheriff's Department are investigating the pool incident.

"They'll speak with all the adults involved and anyone else who may have been around, and then what they'll do is they'll really assess the situation and they'll try to determine if neglect or abuse would have been a factor involved in that," IDCS spokeswoman Susan Tielking said.

The state's investigation could take up to 60 days to complete, Morriston reported.

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Postby Marina » Wed Sep 26, 2007 8:09 pm

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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/l ... cation=rss

Tuesday, September 25, 2007 - Page updated at 02:05 AM


Federal Way woman pleads guilty in foster-child abuse

By Christine Clarridge

Seattle Times staff reporter

A woman who burned her foster daughter's tongue with a heated fork, beat her feet with dumbbells and stuck a needle into the girl's eye several times pleaded guilty Monday to three counts of assault. Chornice Y. Kabbelliyaa, who also goes by the last name of Lewis, pleaded guilty in King County Superior Court to one count of first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree assault for her treatment of her foster daughter, who is also her cousin.

Kabbelliyaa, 34, of Federal Way, had been the girl's licensed foster mother since the girl was 5 years old.

The woman was arrested last year after Child Protective Services was called by a neighbor who reported seeing Kabbelliyaa punch the girl, hit her with an umbrella and lock her in an outside storage unit for hours.

Physicians examining the girl found serious damage to the girl's right eye, scarring, bruising and a severely burned tongue.

The girl, who was then 14, told police and CPS investigators that her foster mother had become angry on one occasion and plunged an insulin needle into the pupil of her right eye, holding it in her eye for several minutes and telling the girl not to move or she'd be blinded.

A medical examination showed similar puncture wounds to the pupil of the girl's left eye.

In addition, police and prosecutors said in charging papers, Kabbelliyaa beat the girl with crutches, an umbrella, canned goods and keys.

Charging documents also state that Kabbelliyaa would turn on the stove's burner until it was red-hot before pressing the girl's palm onto the burner.

Kabbelliyaa, who is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 16 at the Regional Justice Center in Kent, will face a standard sentencing range of 10 years to a little more than 14 years. Prosecutors said they will seek a top-end sentence.

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Postby Marina » Wed Sep 26, 2007 8:29 pm

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http://www.reporter-times.com/?module=d ... ormat=html

Mother questions son's foster placement

Child in critical condition after being found face down in neighbor's pool

By Keith Rhoades | [email protected]
Tuesday September 25, 2007


Indianapolis


Kathleen Lawrence has a lot of questions.


But mostly she wonders if her son Bruce would be lying in a hospital bed in a coma if he hadn't been taken from her home and put into foster care.


Kathleen and her mother, Carolyn Lawrence, talked Monday about Bruce outside Methodist Hospital where her son is being cared for. As of Monday afternoon, Kathleen said her son was breathing on a ventilator, but is in very critical condition. She said doctors have told her they do not expect her son to survive.


On Saturday, the 3-year-old autistic boy wandered away from the temporary foster home of Mark and Penny Hughes, 3980 Henderson Ford Road, who were watching him for the weekend. The couple then found him floating face down In their neighbor's pool.


"CPS (Child Protective Services) is suppose to be protecting children and they're not," Carolyn Lawrence said.


She said if the agency had left the children with their mother, Bruce wouldn't be in the hospital now.


Indiana Department of Child Services communications director Susan Tielking said Monday afternoon that Indiana law does not allow the department to comment on cases. She could not discuss the reasons why Lawrence's children were taken from their mother.


Tielking said there is an open investigation into what happened on Saturday afternoon and that a case manager had been assigned.


Tielking said the Hughes' family has held a therapeutic license since 2001.


Marion County Child Protective Services took Bruce from his mother because of what they deemed unsafe living conditions, Kathleen said. A specific issue was the boy was able to climb out a second floor window and walk away from the home.


Kathleen said she had made the changes the CPS workers wanted, adding locks to doors and closing off areas. In July, however, the children were taken from her and placed in foster care.


She said the CPS worker still called her home "unsafe."


Now she wants answers to some of her own questions.


"They took my children because Bruce wandered away," Kathleen said. "Now he's in the hospital near death."


The foster mother caring for her other three children brought them over to see her Sunday afternoon, Kathleen said. She said the foster mother was very upset about the incident and assured her she was going to take very good care of the other children.


Carolyn Lawrence said the foster family that has been caring for her grandchildren seems to be a good couple that kept her daughter updated. She said that family knew how Bruce wandered. What happened

Kathleen Lawrence said she was told the family was playing outside Saturday afternoon when the mother went into the house to get her shoes. When she came out, she asked her husband where Bruce was. The husband said he thought Bruce followed her inside. She thought he was still with her husband.


Kathleen said the family began searching and it was eight to 10 minutes before they found her son floating in the neighbor's pool.


She said Bruce was rushed to the hospital where doctors got his heart going. He was then flown by helicopter to Methodist Hospital.



Kathleen and Carolyn Lawrence wanted to know if the temporary foster family had been told about Bruce wandering all the time. Kathleen said it's hard to keep up with Bruce.


"He's fast" Kathleen said.


Kathleen has four children, a boy five, Bruce 3, and daughters, ages 2 and 1.


The Lawrences said Bruce loved his brother and sisters. The children played together.


While the family waits, people from the hospital have stopped in and prayed with them, they said. The mother and grandmother know what the doctor's say, but they also believe miracles can and do happen, they said.


And he has a big beautiful smile.


They said Bruce is autistic and that may be why he wanders around so much.

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Postby Marina » Sat Sep 29, 2007 7:17 am

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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/loc ... ?track=rss

From Orlando Sentinel

Former foster parent sentenced to life in prison in child porn case

Kristen Reed | Sentinel Staff Writer
September 28, 2007


DELAND - A former foster parent charged with possessing child pornography and forcing a young girl to perform sex acts was sentenced to life in prison today.

Robert R. Clinton, of Deltona, pleaded no contest to one charge of lewd and lascivious molestation, a life felony. Circuit Judge Frank Marriott also sentenced Clinton to 50 years in prison on 10 counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child and 15 years for 40 counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child.

Clinton originally was arrested in February for possessing child pornography when investigators found pictures showing Clinton performing sex acts on a 3-year-old foster child.

Clinton admitted he took more than 40 pictures of the girl, who was placed in his home for two weeks.

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Postby Marina » Mon Oct 08, 2007 3:04 pm

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http://www.katu.com/news/local/10241111.html

Man, 62, accused of sexually abusing foster child

Story Published: Oct 4, 2007 at 1:59 PM PDT

Story Updated: Oct 4, 2007 at 1:59 PM PDT
By Associated Press

ST. HELENS, Ore. (AP) - St. Helens police say a six-year-old girl was sexually abused by her foster dad.

Police say 62-year-old Richard Leroy Young has been arrested and charged with sexual abuse and sodomy.

He is being held in the Columbia County Jail with bail set at $125,000.

The girl has been taken into protective custody by the Department of Human Services, along with a second foster child who had also been living with Young.

Police have not said exactly when or how often they believe the abuse occurred.

Lieutenant Terry Moss, with the St. Helens Police Department, says investigators are trying to figure out if there were more victims.

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Postby Marina » Mon Oct 08, 2007 3:23 pm

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http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/stor ... public_rss

Girls returned to 'hell'


Robyn Ironside
October 08, 2007 12:00am

AFTER three years in foster care, three little girls have been returned to a "living hell" because of the "bloody mindedness" of three Children's Court magistrates, according to Foster Care Queensland.

The girls' foster father has described the heart-wrenching and traumatic reunification in his own words, see below, after the sisters were sent back to their mother after an administrative error by the Child Safety Department.

"The department had intended to seek another two-year protection order to keep the girls in care but a mix-up with the dates saw them returned to their birth mother, literally overnight," the foster father said at the weekend.

Child safety officers tried three times to have an interim order granted.

However, on each occasion, the sitting magistrate refused on the basis the original order had expired.

The foster father said he did not blame Child Safety for the predicament but felt the system had failed the girls.

"The case workers have done a brilliant job. It's the Children's Court that has let them down. These magistrates have sent these kids back to a living hell," he said.

FCQ president Bryan Smith said the repeated refusal of three different magistrates to grant the order was nothing but "bloody mindedness" on their part and amounted to a "systematic abuse of the children concerned".

"They (the magistrates) only look at what the letter of the law says, rather than the needs of the children," Mr Smith said.

He called for the magistrates to be "dragged out of court" and shown the conditions in which the girls now live.

"They have absolutely no understanding of child protection. If they actually saw the children we see, with broken jaws and broken arms, burn marks, teeth and fingernails pulled out, perhaps they would judge these cases differently," he said.

Child Safety Minister Margaret Keech was unable to comment directly on the case but admitted her department was not "above the law and officers had to abide by the decisions of the courts".

"In cases where the department believes children could be at risk as a result of a court's decision to return them to their natural parents, there are avenues of appeal," Mrs Keech said.

Mr Smith said child safety officers were preparing a fourth appeal aimed at returning the three girls to their foster family.

"The department would not be going to this much effort if it wasn't deeply concerned for the girls' safety," he said.

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Postby Marina » Sat Oct 13, 2007 11:29 am

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 02179.html

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Man Is Charged With Sex Abuse Of Three Girls

Gaithersburg Man Had Rape Conviction

By Ernesto Londo¿o
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 13, 2007; Page B02

A Gaithersburg man convicted of raping a child in New York more than a decade ago has been arrested in Montgomery County for allegedly abusing three girls, including a disabled foster child who was in his wife's custody, authorities said yesterday.

Melvin Peterson, 40, was charged with rape, sex abuse of a minor and sex offense, according to court records. He was taken into custody last week and charged with abusing one of the girls and then was charged this week with abusing the other two.

The foster child, who is developmentally disabled, was 13 years old when the alleged abuse began in July 2006, police said. The other girls were not foster children and are not related to Peterson.

The foster child disclosed the abuse this summer after being transferred to another home, Detective Jordan Satinsky said. Detectives then interviewed Veronica Peterson, the defendant's wife, and the other girls. The girls told detectives that Melvin Peterson repeatedly abused them as well, Satinsky said.

A spokeswoman for the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Child Welfare Services, said officials were reviewing the matter yesterday. She said that not all foster parents in Montgomery are appointed by the county.

Veronica Peterson said she did not know about her husband's conviction in New York. She also said she had no indication that he might have been molesting children until she was contacted by authorities in recent weeks.

"I don't even believe that this is happening," she said yesterday. "I don't even know what to feel."

According to county police, Melvin Peterson was convicted of rape, sexual abuse and acting in a manner that results in injury to a child in Nassau County, N.Y., during the early 1990s. Efforts to learn details of that case yesterday were unsuccessful.

Veronica Peterson said her husband's criminal history did not prevent her from becoming a foster parent, because the two were estranged when she applied. During the past few years, he has returned to her home periodically, she said.

She said she is no longer a foster parent. "I would never do that one again," she said.

One of the three girls told detectives that Peterson began abusing her when she was 7 or 8 years old, according to a charging document.

Detectives questioned Peterson, who acknowledged engaging in sex acts with the girl and who "penned an apology letter to her expressing his regret for having done so," the charging document says.

The other girl who is not the foster child was molested on one or two occasions when she was about 15 years old, Satinsky said.

The foster child told detectives that the abuse continued for nearly a year, police said. Satinsky said detectives are concerned that other foster children who spent time at the house might have been abused.

"Several kids have been living under her roof," Satinsky said. "We don't know where they are, but we're trying to look for them."

Veronica Peterson said the 13-year-old girl was the only foster child who has lived with her.

Satinsky said the girls told detectives that they did not report the abuse to authorities earlier because Melvin Peterson asked them not to.

"He threatened them," Satinsky said. "He told them he would get locked up" if they disclosed the abuse, he said.

Peterson was arrested last week on one set of charges filed in connection with one of the girls who is not a foster child.

Warrants on the two other cases were served late Wednesday.

It is unclear whether Peterson, who worked at a temp agency in Rockville, has retained a lawyer. He is being held at the Montgomery County Detention Center in lieu of $75,000 bond.

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Postby Marina » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:46 pm

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http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/ ... 7&cxcat=16


Charges filed again in child abuse case

Springfield couple indicted in Clark County on 63 charges. Case was dismissed in Union County because of location.

By Valerie Lough

Staff Writer

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

SPRINGFIELD — A Springfield couple charged last year in Union County with abusing their five adopted children were indicted Monday by a Clark County grand jury on a total of 63 counts of felonious assault, endangering children and permitting child abuse.

Officials accused James Ferguson, 47, and his wife, Vonda Ferguson, 44, both of Springfield, of "reckless abuse of a child under 18 years of age, resulting in serious physical harm to the child."

Among the charges are two counts of rape against Vonda Ferguson.

The Fergusons are accused of using extreme forms of punishment on their children — hitting them with hammers and belts until they bled, forcing them to eat excrement and burning them with irons — between 2000 and 2004.

The children were taken out of the home in 2004 and the couple gave up custody of them in 2005.

Vonda Ferguson declined comment.

The Fergusons had been charged in Union County last year with 61 counts of felonious assault, permitting abuse and endangering children for allegedly abusing five of their adopted children between 2000 and 2004. Vonda Ferguson was also charged with two counts of rape in that case.

Those charges were dismissed earlier this year by Union County Judge Richard Parrott after prosecutors there conceded that many of the reported incidents took place in Clark County.

Union County prosecutors will act as special prosecutors in the case, with Clark officials providing only "logistical support."

The Fergusons will be arraigned Friday at 8:30 a.m.

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Postby Marina » Thu Oct 25, 2007 8:26 pm

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http://abqtrib.com/news/2007/oct/23/tri ... ter-child/

Trial to open in rape case of disabled foster child

By Joline Gutierrez Krueger (Contact)
Tuesday, October 23, 2007


An Albuquerque man was expected to go on trial today in the suspected repeated rape of his quadriplegic foster daughter, who has cerebral palsy.

Michael Esquivel, 57, is charged with two counts of criminal sexual penetration involving his disabled foster daughter while she was in his and his wife's care for about four months in late 2002.

Opening arguments were scheduled this morning before state District Judge Neil Candelaria in Albuquerque.

The girl, referred to as V.S. in court documents, was between the ages of 9 and 10 when the abuse was alleged to have occurred.

Cerebral palsy renders her a spastic quadriplegic, but while she has difficulty with speech and muscle control she functions at a normal cognitive level, court documents state.

She was placed in the Esquivels' North Valley home on Sept. 16, 2002, about a month after she was removed from her mother's custody and placed in foster care with the state Children, Youth and Families Department.

Court documents say she came to the attention of the state after being hospitalized in August 2002 for being severely underweight and suffering from malnourishment.

The girl disclosed the alleged abuse after leaving the Esquivel home and being placed with her maternal grandparents Jan. 31, 2003. Her mother reported the suspected abuse to CYFD in February 2003.

Esquivel was indicted in September 2004.

A federal lawsuit on behalf of the girl was filed in federal court in October 2005 against Michael and wife Estella Esquivel and New Mexico Solutions, the agency that licensed the Esquivels as treatment foster parents. A settlement conference is scheduled in January.

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Postby Marina » Sun Oct 28, 2007 12:07 pm

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http://www.journal-advocate.com/article ... local3.txt

Social workers, foster mother take the stand in McCoy trial

McCoy accused of sexual assault and aggravated incest

By Stacie Miller
Journal-Advocate staff writer Thursday, October 25, 2007 5:03 PM MDT


Two social workers and the foster mother testified Wednesday that the alleged victim told them on separate occasions her daddy, McCoy, married her and touched her inappropriately. Willie Leon McCoy is accused of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter when she was six.

McCoy’s attorney Janet Zimmerman pointed out that the victim never specifically said who her daddy was in the two taped interviews and counters that the social workers and foster mother are misinterpreting the girl’s words.

Dr. Antonia Chiesa testified that she found no physical evidence during her examination that the young girl was sexually assaulted. Chiesa added lack of physical evidence does not mean someone has not been assaulted because touching, rubbing or licking do not leave marks.

On cross examination, Chiesa agreed there is a high sexual content on TV and that children might see these inappropriate materials.

The foster mother said the young girl told her on two occasions that her daddy married her and licked her. The foster mother said the girl also told her the mother would tell her daddy not to do it anymore and they would fight.

Zimmerman asked the judge for a mistrial after the foster mother said the girl would not enter the courtroom because she was scared of her daddy.

“Her statement is highly prejudicial,” Zimmerman said. “The witness has a strong interest in keeping the children away from their natural parents and I believe it was an intentional prejudicial statement.”

Judge Kevin Hoyer told the jury to disregard the statement.

Two Logan County social workers were called to the foster home on separate occasions to talk to the alleged victim.

Core Services Supervisor Leona Green said the girl told her she was married to her daddy and they watched yucky movies together and he watched her take a bath.

Zimmerman said the young girl has many daddys, such as her natural father, step father and foster father. Green said she had only heard the girl refer to McCoy as her daddy.

Zimmerman also said it is not uncommon for fathers to help at bath time when the children are so young.

Social worker Toni Harms recorded her interview with the alleged victim. In the tape the girl said she stood on the toilet and her daddy married her.

In the tape the girl also talks about ghosts in her house. Zimmerman asked Harms why they did not investigate the ghosts since they are believing other statements the young girl made during the tape interview.

The trial continues in District Court today at the Logan County Justice Center.

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Postby Marina » Mon Oct 29, 2007 11:14 am

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http://www.whiotv.com/news/14433602/det ... y&psp=news

Springfield Couple Accused of Child Abuse

POSTED: 4:40 pm EDT October 26, 2007
UPDATED: 5:07 pm EDT October 26, 2007


SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- A Springfield couple accused of torturing and abusing their adopted children plead not guilty to more than 60 charges in court Friday.

Vonda Ferguson faces 33 charges including rape, felonious assault and endangering children. Her husband James Ferguson, is charged with 30 counts of endangering children, felonious assault and permitting child abuse.

Police said the couple abused their five adopted children between 2000 and 2004 in Union and Clark counties.

The allegations involved burning the children and beating them with belts, sticks and hammers.

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Marina
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Postby Marina » Sat Nov 03, 2007 7:59 pm

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http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/glob ... ?s=7301999

Ashland man gets 30-year sentence in sexual abuse case




Associated Press - November 2, 2007 9:14 AM ET

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - Thirty years in prison, for an Ashland man who abused a toddler left in his care by her foster mother.

A federal judge this week sentenced Ricky L. Sandcrane under terms required by a law that toughened penalties for sex crimes involving children. U.S. District Judge Jack Shanstrom denied a defense motion contending the law is unconstitutional.

Sandcrane pleaded guilty in May, to a charge of aggravated sexual abuse involving a 3-year-old girl. He was her babysitter in Lame Deer, while the child's foster mother was gone for a couple of hours.

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Marina
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Postby Marina » Tue Nov 06, 2007 8:35 am

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http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504 ... od+40.1-29

Foster Parent Sentenced for Child Rape

Reported by: Ny Lynn Nichols
Monday, Nov 5, 2007 @04:47pm CST

CLOVIS -- A state-appointed foster parent is sentenced for sexually assaulting children. 43-year-old Richard Glascoe got 25 years. The charges against the Clovis man stem from three separate incidents. He raped three 7-year-old girls.

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Marina
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Postby Marina » Sat Nov 10, 2007 1:30 pm

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http://www.waow.com/News/index.php?ID=17744


Foster Care Workers Enter Not Guilty Pleas


MARATHON COUNTY -- The two foster care workers accused of sexually assaulting a foster child in Marathon County, say they didn't do it.
Robert Thorpe, 55, and Daniel Kurth, 39, both pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
Prosecutors say sometime last year at a treatment home in Weston, the men had sexual contact with a 17-year-old with brain injuries.
The criminal complaint shows the men also exposed their genitals to the victim.
If convicted, each could face over 100 years in prison.


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Marina
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Postby Marina » Wed Nov 14, 2007 7:18 pm

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http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/local_ ... 62821.html

Published November 13, 2007 04:28 pm - JAY, Okla. —


Foster parent arrested on charges of raping 14-year-old


JAY, Okla. — A Grove man, accused of raping and impregnating his 14-year-old foster daughter, is free on $150,000 bail, court officials said Tuesday.


Timothy Joe Mountford, 49, is charged in Delaware County District Court in Jay with second-degree rape and child sexual abuse, both felonies. He was arrested on Friday.

According to an affidavit warrant signed Sgt. Mark Sheridan, Grove Police Department detective the victim had a seizure at school and was taken to Integris Grove General Hospital.

During the course of the examination, the victim and her foster mother were told the victim was about 11 weeks pregnant, the affidavit states.

When the victim returned home, she confessed to her foster mother Mountford assaulted her before the current school year began the affidavit states.

Mountford also confessed to the victim’s foster mother that “he had sex with … one time at their house in their bedroom on their bed,” the affidavit states.

Nick Lelecas, assistant district attorney declined to comment on the case citing the victim is a juvenile, when asked if the victim had been removed the foster home.

The victim was placed in foster care after she was raped and impregnated when she was 11 years old.

In that case, Tommy James Isbell, 35, of Jay pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree rape and 12 counts of forcible sodomy and was sentenced to life, court records show.

Isbell confessed to having sex with the child since she was 9, but stated the sexual activity was consensual, according to a Jay Police Department investigative report.

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Marina
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Postby Marina » Sun Nov 18, 2007 9:47 pm

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http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.d ... /711170585

Posted November 17, 2007

Clintonville foster parent charged with sexual assault of children

By Dan Wilson
Post-Crescent staff writer

WAUPACA — A Clintonville man who provided foster care in Waupaca County is charged with sexually assaulting two children who lived in his home.

...

Dan Wilson: 920-993-1000, ext. 304, or [email protected]

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Marina
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Postby Marina » Sun Nov 18, 2007 10:34 pm

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http://www.journal-advocate.com/article ... local3.txt

Man arrested for sexually assaulting child

Second felony case this year for Scott Smith

By Stacie Miller
Journal-Advocate staff writer Saturday, November 17, 2007 11:19 AM MST


STERLING — A Sterling man was arrested Wednesday for sexually assaulting his parents’ foster child.

...

Stacie Miller: (970) 522-1990 Ext. 237; [email protected]

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Marina
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Postby Marina » Thu Nov 22, 2007 4:05 pm

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http://arklatexhomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=9098

Foster Parent Charged With Assaulting Teen

Reported by: Newsroom Solutions
Tuesday, Nov 20, 2007 @01:14pm CST

(Grove) -- A 49-year-old Grove man has been charged with rape and child abuse after for assaulting a 14-year-old in his care and impregnating her.
Timothy Joe Mountford was released after posting a 150-thousand-dollar bond.
The incident came to light when the girl was taken to a nearby hospital after suffering a seizure during school, that's where doctors determined she was pregnant.
Unfortunately, it's the second time the teen has been victimized.
Three years earlier, another man, 35-year-old Tommy James Isbell of Jay, was sentenced to life-in-prison on 16 counts of sexual abuse.
The victim was placed in state custody after Isbell admitted assaulting the girl a number of times and getting her pregnant when she was just eleven-years-old.

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Marina
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Postby Marina » Thu Nov 22, 2007 4:44 pm

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http://www.koin.com/Global/story.asp?S=7395327

Foster Father Faces Assault Charges Over 2-Year-Old Girl



PORTLAND - Six months after a Portland toddler went to the Emergency Room in serious condition, her foster father is facing assault charges.

Portland police arrested Cesar Cruz-Reyes Tuesday night. The arrest came after a grand jury indicted Cruz on one count of assault in the first degree.

Investigators say on June 22, 2007, Cruz assaulted his 2-year-old foster daughter, who had to be taken to Legacy Emanuel Hospital.

11/21/2007

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Marina
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Postby Marina » Sat Dec 01, 2007 6:04 am

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http://www.bradenton.com/breakingnews/story/243459.html

Posted on Friday, November 30, 2007

Abuse charge against foster mom dropped

By NATALIE NEYSA ALUND
[email protected]

Prosecutors this morning dropped a child abuse charge against a foster mother accused of beating a girl with extension cords.

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office arrested Connie Hunt, 46, in February 2006, because her 11-year-old foster daughter said Hunt hit her with belts and extension cords "when she gets in trouble."

The alleged beatings occurred at the family's home in the 1400 block of Ninth Avenue East.

Hunt, who has no prior record, had been scheduled to go to trial next week on the felony child abuse charge, but the victim is not available to testify at trial, Assistant State Attorney Jamie Rosenberg, wrote in a memo released today.

The victim has a history of mental health issues and is currently at a lock-down mental health facility in southern Florida. The victim's therapist said the girl is "not in a position to discuss the incident."

"Without the testimony of the victim and without any witnesses or admission by the defendant, the state has no other alternative than to (not prosecute) the case," Rosenberg wrote in his memo.

Authorities learned about the alleged abuse when a deputy investigated a school bus fight involving the victim. The deputy noticed scabs on the victim's shoulder, arms and legs.

Rosenberg, in the memo, said Hunt initially told authorities that she only disciplined the child with her hands and "didn't know why her daughter would lie."

Mark Lipinski, Hunt's attorney, said he will hold a news conference this afternoon to discuss his client's charge being dropped.

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Postby Marina » Tue Dec 04, 2007 8:22 pm

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http://www.wbaltv.com/news/14770518/det ... l&psp=news

Police: Foster Parent Charged With Sexual Abuse

POSTED: 11:21 am EST December 4, 2007
UPDATED: 7:06 pm EST December 4, 2007


BALTIMORE COUNTY -- Authorities said Tuesday that a man faces charges of sexually abusing two foster children in his home.

David Millea Shanklin, 66, was charged with sex abuse of a minor and two counts each of child abuse and third-degree sex offense, according to the Baltimore County Police Department.

Detectives said a 12-year-old girl approached authorities on Aug. 18 when they responded to a neighbor's home for a domestic call. The girl told authorities that she was fondled.



"During the investigation, it was discovered that another victim had been abused by Shanklin from January 1995 through sometime in 1998," police said in a prepared statement. That girl was 11 years old when the incidents allegedly first occurred.

One of the victims said she was sitting on his lap playing a video game when he fondled her.

"I just can't believe this is happening," neighbor Walter Rose said. "I have nothing but good things to say about those people."

Shanklin was not arrested. Instead, he was charged by way of a summons to court. He is currently awaiting trial.

Police are still investigating and ask anyone with information on more possible victims to call the Baltimore County Police Department’s Family Crimes Unit at 410-853-3650.

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