What is the link?

The easiest way to read this is to google “Washington Post Adoptive Father Indicted” as the link is way too long to copy. 

This is truly horrendous, sickening news.  I feel for the children involved.  I wish the article had posted the fathers name and the adoption agencies name also. I can’t but help think this protects the perpetrator more than the victims. And what about the home study agency?  It does not sound like anyone is even investigating them.

I don’t generally believe in responses generated by hate, but in this case I have to work hard to not hope these 2 men burn in hell. The other older adopted children of the father may quite likely have had an even longer time of living a life of horror with him.  I hope and pray for healing for all involved, especially the children.  I wonder where they are and hope it is a much better place. At least more children will be spared from adoption by him.

I have to say, I feel there needs to be a national registry of abuse and crime that is checked, NOT a state by state one that the applicant voluntarily must divulge where they have lived.  Also, it seems many agencies are at fault in their home studies that select for age, accumulation of wealth, home size, and possession accumulation rather than the temperament and suitability of a person to be a parent.  Another problem that may contribute to the occurrence of child trafficking is that there is no way for people to access any complaint registry about adoption agencies. Also, complaints against agencies do not seem to be seriously investigated.  (For example, see the agency featured in the book Finding Fernanda - by Erin Siegal which was the focus of numerous complaints and implicated in child trafficking, but still is in business in the US.)

This is so awful.

I also found it odd that they kept saying the “boys in his care”.  If they were adopted they were his SONS, he wasn’t a foster parent or a temporary respite.

Unfortunately child sexual abuse happens in all countries, across all economic and social lines,  birth homes, foster homes, institutions, and adoptive homes. I doubt that the agency knew anything, these kind of people know what to say. There is even an organization that promotes boy/man sex and has a booklet on what to say when you are trying to foster and/or adopt.

I went to a training once by the FBI who told us what they were told and the very next case I had sure enough he followed the script. He was arrested for sexual abusing a boy in the neighborhood before he could adopt.

It is horrifying but people who like to have sex with children tend to hang around children (coaches such as in the PA case, teachers, youth ministers etc)

The children can heal and I pray they do.

Oh Regina how horrible that booklet exists.  I wish more adoption social workers would be required to read it.  Just wondering though if the man applying to adopt that was following the script hadn’t been arrested in the act,  would you have been able to not approve/deny his adoption?

Who knows? I only met with him once before his arrest. It is not easy to deny someone and no one is going to say “I want to adopt or foster because I want to sexually abuse children.”

I am not sure workers could obtain the booklet to read it. I think you would need to join the organization and I am not sure it is even legal to own it. I just heard about it through the FBI.

This is certainly not the only case I have read about re adoptive/foster mothers/fathers. Of course this case the man was only indicted so we don’t know if he is guilty or not. But most sexual abuse is not by strangers but by trusted family or friends.

“It is not easy to deny someone and no one is going to say “I want to adopt or foster because I want to sexually abuse children.”

If you have anything to do with placing children, it should be easy for you to “deny someone.” That someone didn’t state outright that they wished to adopt or foster a child in order to sexual abuse that child doesn’t absolve you of the obligation to that child.
Yes, this agency knew exactly what it was doing. Which was making money. Desperate hopeful people wishing to adopt and desperate pregnant women. Have to go throw up now.

You have to have a reason to deny someone. A feeling is not enough. I am hoping he would have been denied. NO social worker is going to approve someone who she knows is going to abuse a child for money. Get real.

Agencies and social workers do their best. That is why they check fingerprints, references etc.

If you have a magic way to know who would abuse a child before they do it you would be a rich person.
Unfortunately no one knows. School systems hire teachers who sexually abuse etc. Women marry men, men marry women who abuse. Not on purpose.They don’t do it on purpose.

Most sexual abuse is done by a person the child trusts, parents, step parents, teachers, coaches etc. No one usually has a clue until the child tells. sometimes that is years and years from the abuse.

Believe me agencies do their best. In the case I was speaking about the boy had been abused by his birth mother that is why he was being available for adoption. He got a great home in the end and never was exposed to the man. There was no rich adoptive parent (he was in foster care) or desperate birth mother and no agency made a fortune, All adoptions are not the same.

It would be good if all parents could get a little education re sexual abuse. The figures are horrifying. The estimate is one out of four girls, one out of six boys are abused. No one even great parents can completely protect their child just do their best.

That was informative. Thank you, Regina.

I hate to say it though, but I don’t think we can exempt anyone from being a possible abuser, even social workers.  I am thinking about the 9 adoption workers, including some justices indicted in Guatamala for child trafficking within the last year I think.

Some times you can tell. I had a neighbor that was abusing and raping his children. I had a horrible feeling about him,but never saw any violence. I really wanted to report him to child services, but as you say, they can not act with out facts. Unfortunately it was even worse than I thought and did not come out till years later, when one of the family who was having trouble spoke to a guidance counselor.

Contrary to what one might expect, an abused child may often act angry to the non-abusive parent, (because that is the parent they feel safe enough to express their feelings with).  The same child may also seem like they admire and are close to the abusive parent - because they are afraid to do anything else. 

I hope that with more education, awareness, and support for families and the children abused, the numbers will lessen.