Adoption Warehouse

August 2, 2007 permalink

Nine lucky children found a forever home with adoptive mother Judith Leekin. In her home they were handcuffed, tied together and burned while being deprived of food, education or toilet facilities. The mother earned a six-figure income from the adoption subsidies.

This could be a case of a mother scamming the system as suggested in the article, or another dumping ground case, in which the child protectors get rid of their problem cases, then blame the adoptive parent. At least in this case, the press is focusing on money as the root of the problem.

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updated 9:44 a.m. EDT, Tue July 31, 2007

Police: Kids were adopted for profit, abused

PORT ST. LUCIE, Florida (AP) -- They were often handcuffed, tethered together with plastic ties and allowed to soil themselves, investigators say. They had scars on their wrists. Some had burns.

Police say Judith Leekin enriched herself by adopting and neglecting nine children.

Police say Leekin bought this house and another one with the state stipends for her adopted children.

None appeared to have more than a fourth-grade education, not even the adults in their 20s. All were starving.

In all, nine teenagers and young adults were held like prisoners in Judith Leekin's home in what appeared to be a decades-long scheme to line her pockets with the government payments she received for adopting and raising them, police say.

From the outside, Leekin's home appeared to be as ordinary as the others in this well-kept working-class neighborhood on the outskirts of this Atlantic coast town, 120 miles north of Miami. But its pink and white stucco exterior hid the horrors inside, authorities say.

"Horrible, I think, would be the best word used to describe what was going on in that house," said police Capt. Scott Bartal.

Investigators have not yet confirmed the identities of the young people and have not established how long Leekin had them. But authorities believe she adopted all of them in New York City under at least five aliases over two decades.

They range in age from 15 to 27. One is blind and mumbles. One can barely walk or stand. One can't read. But authorities said they do not know if the handicaps are a result of the alleged abuse.

The case came to light on July 4, some 200 miles away across the state in St. Petersburg, when police received a call from a grocery store that a teenager was there wandering aimlessly. The 18-year-old woman, who said she has been with Leekin for 13 years, said Leekin drove her there and abandoned her after telling her they were going to an amusement park.

Police and child welfare workers went to Leekin's home, but found nothing awry. Just one child was with her in the house, and Leekin told investigators the 18-year-old ran away a year ago. But police soon returned, and this time they found all the children, who had apparently been hiding on Leekin's orders.

Leekin, 62, was arrested and jailed on 11 charges, including aggravated elder and child abuse. She declined to be interviewed. Her attorney had no comment.

According to authorities, she was unemployed and lived off the monthly stipends provided by child welfare authorities in New York. She owned at least two homes and several cars. The adopted children said they had never seen a doctor or a dentist and had not been allowed to attend school or even leave the house.

"These people have not received any formal education in the time they've been with her," Bartal said. "At times when they were restricted with handcuffs or zip ties, during the night, they soiled themselves because they weren't permitted to go to the bathroom."

They were fed only noodles, and "they would have eventually starved to death," Bartal said.

The 18-year-old told police Leekin threatened to cut her head off if she told anyone what was happening, authorities said.

"Was there any kind of emotional attachment? Yes, it was fear," Bartal said.

Child welfare workers in New York said they are still digging through paperwork to determine how Leekin came to gain custody. It was not until 1999 that New York City child-welfare authorities began fingerprinting adults who adopted children out of foster care.

If Leekin did adopt them in New York City, she could have been making as much as $180,000 a year for a time. Parents who adopt special needs children can get as much as $55 a day.

"If you adopt a child out of the foster care system, you receive a stipend to help with the child's care, to cover clothing and food, and whatever additional costs are involved with caring for the child until the child turns 21," said Sharman Stein, spokeswoman for the New York City Administration for Children's Services.

There is no legal requirement that a person adopting a child from New York City's foster care system live in New York State.

The Florida Department of Children & Families authorities investigated a complaint of child abuse against Leekin in 1999, but the case was later closed. Officials would not give details.

"Right now we're just concentrating on the care of the victims, making sure they get the medical attention and psychological care they need," department spokeswoman Ellen Higinbotham said. "These adults, they're like elderly people, they're frail and vulnerable."

In Leekin's neighborhood, residents said they were shocked.

"You'd think she was your grandmother. There was nothing suspicious at all," neighbor Jim Hammond said. "We never heard anything from over there, no hollering, no screaming. She was just a nice lady."

Source: CNN

Addendum: From later news, it is clear that social services used Judith Leekin to dump problem children. Just about all of the children in her care had mental handicaps. If this case follows the usual pattern, the adoptive mom will be the target of public outrage and put away for a long time. The social workers who dumped their children with her will escape scrutiny. One teenager, Mo, died in Mrs Leekin's care.

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Aug 16, 2007 3:18 pm US/Eastern

Florida Judge Wants N.Y. Adoption Records

Says They Are Relevant To Leekin Abuse Case

(AP) FORT PIERCE, Fla. A New York judge must decide whether to unseal confidential adoption records, after a Florida court ruled Thursday that they are relevant in the criminal case against a woman accused of abusing 11 adopted children.

Judith Leekin, 62, of Port St. Lucie, is accused of bilking New York City out of $1.26 million in a scheme that involved adopting the children under four aliases to line her pockets with subsidies for their care.

Authorities say the children, now ages 15 to 27, were severely abused, that none have more than a fourth grade education, and all suffer from physical and mental disabilities.

Leekin has pleaded not guilty to the abuse charges.

Circuit Judge James McCann's ruling opens the door for Florida prosecutors to now ask a New York judge to unseal the adoption records.

Prosecutor Marshall Evans said the New York adoption records are needed to confirm the identities of the victims.

The records could also help locate a missing 11th adopted child, prosecutors say. Nine of the children and disabled adults are in Florida state care. A 19-year-old who police say Leekin abandoned in 2004 remains on his own.

The children and adults told police the 11th victim, an 18-year-old boy nicknamed "MO" who suffered from Down's syndrome or autism, died sometime in 1999 or 2000.

"Other than his name and date of birth and a nickname, we know very little about him," Port St. Lucie Police Detective Stuart Klearman told the judge Thursday. "The children have been led to believe that he died but we don't have any record of that."

Klearman also said police need the records to track down the victims' biological parents for DNA comparisons to determine their true identities.

"We do not know for 100 percent fact ... that any of these children are the children adopted out of New York," Klearman said. "They could be almost anybody."

He said copies of their birth certificates obtained from Leekin appear "suspicious."

Klearman also said the victims are now becoming curious.

"They're asking questions -- 'Who are we?"' he said.

Leekin's attorney, Mario Garcia, argued that the adoption records were not relevant in the abuse case.

Outside court, Garcia said the victims received medical care and were taken care of by Leekin.

Garcia also said the Florida Department of Children & Families took custody on Wednesday of the children of Desmond Leekin, who is Leekin's biological son. Desmond Leekin has been questioned by investigators and has said he did not know his mother had all the adopted children in her home.

A telephone message left for the Florida agency was not immediately returned. A telephone listing for Desmond Leekin could not be found.

Source: WCBS-TV New York