International

Feb 22, 2013

Santa Ana foster father accused of sex with adopted children

 
According to Eileed Frere, reporter & author of Santa Ana foster father accused of sex with adopted children, "Police allege Felipe Hernandez sexually assaulted two girls, both foster children placed in his care. He and his wife later adopted them."

Feb 21, 2013

Ex-sitter fights to get conviction in infant death overturned


addresses the case of child minder Jennifer Del Prete,
who was accused and convicted of shaken baby syndrome.
 
The story also touches on the issues
surrounding shaken baby syndrome today.
As Anna Davlantes (Good Day Chicago Co-Anchor) states
in the above linked article,
"So what if there was another explanation here?"

Feb 19, 2013

Innocence March



Among the falsely imprisoned (referred to on the Innocence March site as "The California Twelve") are Alan Gimenez (falsely accused of SBS), Suzanne Johnson (falsely accused of SBS), Dolores Macias (falsely accused of drowning a child), & Joann Parks (falsely accused of starting the house fire that claimed the lives of her three children).

Feb 17, 2013

Mistrial on Megan Martzen murder case


Mistrial on Megan Martzen murder case
 
While this case has been newsworthy for quite some time, it was only recently that I became aware of it. I will offer a very brief gist of the case.

In 2009, Ella Van Leeuwen, who was approximately a year and a half old, passed away (1). In 2010, Ella's babysitter, Megan Martzen, was arrested and charged with her death (2, 3). While in jail, Megan was pregnant (4) and gave birth,  at which time CPS became involved (5). (The child was allowed to stay with his father.)
 
During the trial against Megan, which took place in 2013, prosecutors alleged shaken baby syndrome, while defense presented her as good with kids (6) & argued that Ella had had two accidents in the time before her death (6, 7, 8). As you can see from the video & link above, the cases has ended (for now) in a mistrial.

Feb 16, 2013

Florida Department of Children and Families worker terminated after child neglect arrest

I have an update on the post I shared on January 22, 2013,
regarding a Florida DCF worker, Tara Vereen.

 
To quote Mike Lyons, author of this newest story - Florida Department of Children and Families worker terminated after child neglect arrest - "[Tara] Vereen was arrested on child neglect charges because in 2011, she became aware of two cases of child molestation committed by her husband several years ago on victims ages 6 & 9 but she but did not report it." If it is true that Louis Vereen (Tara Vareen's husband) is guilty of molestation, the is unbelievable that Tara Vereen would stay with him, regardless of whether or not she was employed with DCFS. The fact that she was employed with DCFS and didn't report the alleged abuse is unbelievable.

Feb 14, 2013

Foster mom accused of abuse


 
In this story, Patricia Vanderwagen has been accused
of abusing foster children in her care.
 
To read the story associated with this video, go to

Feb 13, 2013

Geralyn Graham Sentenced To 55 Years In Rilya Wilson Case

In a possible conclusion to my previous posts
Geralyn Graham has been sentenced for her alleged role
in the disappearance of Rilya Wilson, the foster girl in her care.
 


This video & the written news story (plus another video) can be found at

Feb 12, 2013

Miscarriage of Justice

In CPS, unfortunately, there can be cases of Miscarriage of Justice.

As a person who has experienced this directly,
I can tell you that this leaves you feeling utterly violated.

For years after, you can be left experiencing nightmares
& unexpected flashes of pain.

It has only been upon the writing of my book (still in progress)
that I have begun to find peace (& hope of finally being "heard").

At this point, justice to me would mean that anyone involved
would be required to read (or hear) my story
& be forced to sit with the knowledge
of what they had done to my family & me.

Feb 8, 2013

Death row inmate among many challenging pathologist's findings

 Jeff Havard has been convicted of murder of infant Chloe Britt. He is on death row for his alleged role in the infant's death.
 
 
I would like to directly quote the article,
 
Former state Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz said Hayne's testimony that Havard shook the baby to death went unchallenged because the public defender couldn't afford a second exam.
 
"He was denied the use of his own expert in that case, but they allowed the state to proffer Dr. Hayne as an expert for the state," said Diaz, who served on the Mississippi Supreme Court from 2000 to 2008.
 
Diaz was one of two justices who voted to throw out Havard's conviction in a 2006 appeal. But in the end, the majority of the high court upheld the death sentence.
 
"I think there probably are people in prison who have not committed the crime they're convicted of committing," Diaz said.

Feb 7, 2013

documentary re: Sara Johnson

Yesterday, I posted several videos from Lawless America re: CPS. I have become aware that one of the video's featured, that of Karla Johnson, has been the focus of a short documentary by JusticeforFamilies.us. It seems appropriate to share that video here.
 

Feb 6, 2013

Lawless America re: CPS & family court

On Sept 18 2012, I posted about Bill Windsor of Lawless America.
Now, I will list some of his videos, in order of the person's first name.

Congressional Testimony: Allie Overstreet to Bill Windsor of Lawless America

http://youtu.be/Y8zeCqki0sw

Congressional Testimony: Cynthia Cook to Bill Windsor of Lawless America

http://youtu.be/9vzkznpH2sc

Congressional Testimony: Deanna Hardwick to Bill Windsor of Lawless America
(The last name listed here may be incorrect. She says a diff name & has another video w/ a diff last name listed.)

http://youtu.be/gQugns6PCys

Congressional Testimony: Gail Schumacher to Bill Windsor of Lawless America

http://youtu.be/7GalIb1DiKA

Congressional Testimony: Jim Black to Bill Windsor of Lawless America

http://youtu.be/O-qmq5BO-54

Congressional Testimony: Karla Johnson to Bill Windsor of Lawless America

http://youtu.be/t_nV_1cxqy4
 
Congressional Testimony: Sheri Harris to Bill Windsor of Lawless America

http://youtu.be/CdsjUUhiLmQ

Congressional Testimony: Stephanie Flygare to Bill Windsor of Lawless America

http://youtu.be/0EOgia8Wxv4

 

 
This is one of several posts sharing the work
of Bill Windsor of Lawless America.

Feb 4, 2013

Southampton couple feared they would lose baby over false abuse claims

Southampton couple feared they would lose baby over false abuse claims
by: Melanie Adams, Health Reporter
Southern Daily Echo
Feb 2, 2013

_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
 
A COUPLE suffered “three weeks of hell” after social workers accused them of harming their baby daughter.
 
Kelly Cook and partner Ian Hutchison found themselves under investigation, leaving them terrified that seven-week-old Ava would be taken away from them.
 
Their traumatic ordeal began after their health visitor, during a regular check-up a week before Christmas, noticed a reddish mark on the bottom of Ava's right foot and called in Southampton City Council's child services.
 
Convinced it was a bruise - which a baby so young would have been unable to cause itself - social services immediately drafted in the police and doctors as they launched an investigation into the young family who were left petrified that they would lose their daughter.

Within hours Kelly, 35, and Ian, 31, found themselves under investigation at the hospital where a number of paediatricians and a dermatologist examined Ava.
 
Unable to rule out a birthmark they were asked to bring Ava back two days later for a second look.
 
But on this visit the dermatologist was not there and because the mark had faded it was judged to be a bruise and Ava was forced to undergo numerous tests, scans and x-rays.
Desperate Kelly and Ian insisted that the mark was not a bruise and said it kept reappearing and fading.
 
They even provided photographic evidence to prove it but nobody listened. They were told that social services believed Ava was at serious risk of harm and her parents were only allowed to keep her if they stayed with Ian's parents.
 
But despite the serious concerns over Ava's safety, the family did not see or hear from social services for nine days over the Christmas period, leaving them totally in the dark of what was happening.
 
It wasn't until December 31, when a social worker finally did visit, that she witnessed the mark appearing and disappearing on Ava's foot, proving what her parents had been arguing from the start - that it wasn't a bruise.
 
A week later an examination by a dermatologist at the hospital confirmed that it was not a bruise and within ten minutes Kelly and carpenter Ian got the call they had been longing for.
 
They were told that the case against them was closed and they could return home with Ava.
 
But there was no apology or explanation.
 
Now Kelly and Ian, from Shirley, Southampton, are demanding answers from social services about why they were never listened to, why Ava was never visited while they were staying at her grandparents house if she was deemed to be at serious risk and why they have not yet received an apology.
 
Kelly, a legal secretary, said: “We were effectively house bound over Christmas. We couldn't go anywhere without Ian's parents and even my parents had to be police checked before we could go to their house on Boxing Day.
 
“Yet what we cannot understand is that if they were so worried about Ava, why did no one come and visit us for nine days? It makes no sense.
 
“Had they listened to us, looked at the photos I had taken of Ava's foot, this could have all been cleared up within two days.
 
“Instead, they refused to listen. They ruined our first Christmas with Ava, which we will never get back and we spent weeks petrified that we might lose her.
 
“What they have put Ava through, with all the tests, scans and x-rays, being poked and prodded, is abuse in itself. It has been very traumatic for Ava to go through all that.
 
“I think it is disgusting and they haven't even apologised.
 
“We were put through three weeks of hell and we want this exposed so that other innocent families do not endure the grief and heartache that we have been through with our baby daughter.”
 
Ava is now waiting for an outpatient's appointment with the dermatologist to determine what the mark is.
 
Kelly and Ian have made a formal complaint to Southampton City Council's social services over their handling of the case in the hope that changes can be made to prevent other parents going through the same trauma.
 
After a meeting with social services bosses earlier this week, the family are now waiting for a report into their case, expected to be complete by Tuesday.
 
When the Daily Echo asked the council to comment on Ava’s case and the claims made by her parents a spokesman said: “We are unable to speak about individual cases but the council does take any complaint it receives seriously and this follows a standard procedure based on national guidelines.
 
“In order to ensure that a complaint is fully investigated, there is a time line to ensure the complainant knows when they will receive an answer.”