Dad held for possessing child pornography was cleared as foster parent
Padraig O'Morain: How on earth did HSE allow a child pornographer to be a foster parent?
Query:
Herald.ie Web Search
By Cormac Byrne, EXCLUSIVE,
Thursday March 04 2010
A MAN imprisoned for possessing child porn was cleared as a foster parent by gardai and health authorities.
The Dublin dad, in his 60s, was convicted of possessing shocking images.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is currently serving a prison sentence for possession of graphic images depicting children in sexually explicit situations.
Opposition Health spokesman Dr James Reilly today called for all the children in the man’s care to be interviewed to determine if they had been abused.
Fine Gael said that an inquiry should be set up immediately to see “how this man slipped through the net”.
“This is a serious issue in any event and they would have to go back and interview the children to see if they suffered any abuse,” Dr Reilly said.
“There needs to be an investigation to improve the vetting procedure. I’m not trying to lay the blame at anyone’s door but we must address the issues that allowed this man to slip through the net.”
Neighbours confirmed to the Herald that the man had brought up a number of foster children.
“I know of him alright. Suffice to say I hope he doesn't come back,” said a neighbour, who said she is nervous of the man’s release.
But the HSE would not confirm or deny that the man was on the fostering register.
Another neighbour admitted that there were constant rumours about the man’s behaviour towards children in his care.
“I've had a bad feeling about him for years,” said a mother in the area where the man resided.
“Everyone has always been suspicious of him, he would talk to children in the area inappropriately.
“Even from when we were very young, we were always wary about him.
“My child would play in his house with his grandson but I won't be allowing him over there unsupervised or when he's around anymore.”
A local resident who lives very close to the man has warned that the man will not be welcomed back to the area on his release.
“I don't know how he's going to come back and live here,” the neighbour said.
Health authorities are responsible for vetting possible foster carers, who must also gain garda clearance before taking children into their home.
According to the Irish Foster Care Association “the health authority will seek and speak to referees and will also require the applicant's permission to seek Garda clearance on all adult family members residing in the home.
“There are certain offences that will prevent you becoming a foster carer, so if you have ever been convicted of a sexual offence or a violent act towards a child then you will not be able to foster.”
The HSE would not discuss the case to protect the identity of children who may have been fostered by the man and defended its protocol surrounding carers.
“Under the 1991 Childcare Act, the HSE is precluded from discussing the details of any child in its care, including the details of individual foster carers as this may lead to the identification of the child/ren,” they said in a statement to the Herald.
“Where there are concerns, either from the HSE or family perspective, the HSE would review the situation through the foster carer/family Link Worker and the child's Social Worker, and if fostering is considered not to be appropriate, the contract would be terminated, by either the HSE or the foster carer/family.
“The HSE also works very closely with An Garda Siochana which is the other statutory authority with responsibility for childcare.”
This latest revelation comes after it was revealed that children in foster care have made repeated complaints of physical and sexual abuse in the HSE's Dublin north-east region over a period of three years, but none of their alleged abusers has been prosecuted.
The man in this case is not believed to be linked to these cases.
- Cormac Byrne, EXCLUSIVE,
http://www.herald.ie/national-news/dad-held-for-possessing-child-pornography-was-cleared-as-foster-parent-2088352.html
Isabella Brooke Knightly and Austin Gamez-Knightly
In Memory of my Loving Husband, William F. Knightly Jr. Murdered by ILLEGAL Palliative Care at a Nashua, NH Hospital
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Police to investigate toddler's (Foster childs)death as homicide
Police to investigate toddler's death as homicide
The Stollery Children's Hospital.
Updated: Thu Mar. 04 2010 18:04:38
ctvedmonton.ca
The death of a 21-month-old girl who died while in foster care is being investigated as a homicide.
While police have not released the cause of death, the child's biological family says it may be a case of shaken baby syndrome. RCMP are also not releasing the child's name.
CTV News learned the child passed away at the Stollery Children's Hospital Wednesday, two days after an alleged incident at her foster home in the Morinville area.
The biological family tells CTV News the toddler had only been in foster care for about two months. They say the little girl suffered severe brain damage, and that doctors told them the toddler may have been shaken to death.
The province claims privacy laws prevent it from disclosing how long the foster parents have been in the system, or if there are currently other foster children residing in the same home.
Minister of Children and Youth Services Yvonne Fritz says an internal investigation was ordered immediately following the news that the little girl had been admitted to hospital with critical injuries.
"We will be reviewing the policies, the procedures, the standards. We'll be looking at absolutely every support that we ensured was in place for this foster family and for this child."
RCMP say their investigators will work with provincial officials as they look into the death.
With files from Susan Amerongen
http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100304/edm_toddler_100304/20100304/?hub=EdmontonHome
The Stollery Children's Hospital.
Updated: Thu Mar. 04 2010 18:04:38
ctvedmonton.ca
The death of a 21-month-old girl who died while in foster care is being investigated as a homicide.
While police have not released the cause of death, the child's biological family says it may be a case of shaken baby syndrome. RCMP are also not releasing the child's name.
CTV News learned the child passed away at the Stollery Children's Hospital Wednesday, two days after an alleged incident at her foster home in the Morinville area.
The biological family tells CTV News the toddler had only been in foster care for about two months. They say the little girl suffered severe brain damage, and that doctors told them the toddler may have been shaken to death.
The province claims privacy laws prevent it from disclosing how long the foster parents have been in the system, or if there are currently other foster children residing in the same home.
Minister of Children and Youth Services Yvonne Fritz says an internal investigation was ordered immediately following the news that the little girl had been admitted to hospital with critical injuries.
"We will be reviewing the policies, the procedures, the standards. We'll be looking at absolutely every support that we ensured was in place for this foster family and for this child."
RCMP say their investigators will work with provincial officials as they look into the death.
With files from Susan Amerongen
http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100304/edm_toddler_100304/20100304/?hub=EdmontonHome
NH Foster Child in Monmouth Co.,NJ foster home suffocates; parents told in court
Baby in Monmouth Co. foster home suffocates; parents told in court
17-month-old boy became trapped between toddler bed and wall, authorities said
BY CHARLES WEBSTER • GANNETT NEW JERSEY • MARCH 4, 2010
BRICK — A 17-month-old boy in the care of the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services suffocated overnight in his foster home, and his parents were told of the death when they went to court to try to regain custody of him.
Calel Mayland Wheeler died early Tuesday after apparently becoming trapped between the mattress of the toddler bed in which he was sleeping and the bedroom wall.
His parents, Carmen E. Cotting, 24, and Timothy J. Wheeler, 34, both of Claremont, N.H., are blaming the child welfare agency for their son's death.
"This is negligence," Wheeler said. "DYFS was negligent."
Cotting and Wheeler were scheduled to appear before state Superior Court Judge Robert A. Coogan on Tuesday morning.
"Our intention was to bring our kids home," Cotting said.
Instead, they were ushered into a room off of the courtroom and told the boy had died just hours before.
"Why weren't we called when this first happened?" Wheeler asked. "Why did they wait to tell us in court?"
Cotting says Calel and a 5-year-old son of the couple were placed in DYFS custody on Nov. 2, after she had come to New Jersey from New Hampshire but then was left homeless.
She had become embroiled in legal issues involving Carl Ray Smith, 53, of Laconia, N.H., whom Middletown police have accused of trying to pass a bad $54,000 check.
Police say the check was from a closed account of Cotting's, and she had disposed of it in a Dumpster. Both are facing charges in the case. Smith is in the Monmouth County Jail in Freehold Township on $20,000 bail, and Cotting was released on a summons.
Wheeler said he was unable to take custody of the boys in November because he was in a New Hampshire jail on a simple assault charge. He was released at the end of January.
Meanwhile, the boys were placed in a foster home in Brick. Wheeler said he learned a DYFS worker recently told the foster parents to remove the boy from a crib because it was on a recall list, but a new crib was not brought into the house.
Wheeler says his 17-month-old son apparently was put to sleep with a blanket in a toddler bed Monday night. Around 6 a.m. Tuesday, the boy was found dead in that bed.
Brick Detective William Ruocco and Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Detective Thomas Tiernan handled the investigation into the child's death.
An autopsy determined the death was accidental, caused by positional asphyxia, said Prosecutor's Office Deputy Chief Michael Mohel. He said no foul play is suspected.
Federal and state laws require DYFS to release certain information about child deaths or near-fatalities that result from child abuse or neglect, according to a news release issued by DYFS in July.
A DYFS spokeswoman declined to comment.
"Under state and federal law, only under specific circumstances can we acknowledge or discuss any involvement with a child in the child welfare system," spokeswoman Lauren Kidd said. "At this point, there is no comment or information we can offer."
Wheeler says he was given the same information on the boy's death by DYFS. But the parents want more answers.
"Why did they have a 17-month-old baby in a toddler's bed? And why was a 17-month-old baby alone in a room without a baby monitor? He should have been in a crib," Wheeler said, demanding answers about his son's death.
Instead, Wheeler says DYFS officials tried to get a gag order to keep him from speaking to the media.
He vowed, "Somebody is going to pay for this."
Cotting's father, who lives in in New Hampshire, was awarded temporary custody of the couple's 5-year-old son Wednesday afternoon, and the pair returned to their home state Wednesday evening to begin making arrangements for Calel's funeral.
They are waiting for their youngest son to be picked up by a New Hampshire funeral home.
The couple say they are troubled by the way DYFS handled the situation.
"I knew before they told us because of the way they were acting," Cotting said in explaining the chain of events leading up to DYFS officials giving her the news.
She said a DYFS lawyer told her, before breaking the news, "In 22 years we have never had this happen."
Brick Detective William Ruocco and Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Detective Thomas Tiernan handled the investigation into the child's death.
An autopsy determined the death was accidental, caused by positional asphyxia, said Prosecutor's Office Deputy Chief Michael Mohel. He said no foul play is suspected.
Federal and state laws require DYFS to release certain information about child deaths or near-fatalities that result from child abuse or neglect, according to a news release issued by DYFS in July.
A DYFS spokeswoman declined to comment.
"Under state and federal law, only under specific circumstances can we acknowledge or discuss any involvement with a child in the child welfare system," spokeswoman Lauren Kidd said. "At this point, there is no comment or information we can offer."
Wheeler says he was given the same information on the boy's death by DYFS. But the parents want more answers.
"Why did they have a 17-month-old baby in a toddler's bed? And why was a 17-month-old baby alone in a room without a baby monitor? He should have been in a crib," Wheeler said, demanding answers about his son's death.
Instead, Wheeler says DYFS officials tried to get a gag order to keep him from speaking to the media.
He vowed, "Somebody is going to pay for this."
Cotting's father, who lives in in New Hampshire, was awarded temporary custody of the couple's 5-year-old son Wednesday afternoon, and the pair returned to their home state Wednesday evening to begin making arrangements for Calel's funeral.
They are waiting for their youngest son to be picked up by a New Hampshire funeral home.
The couple say they are troubled by the way DYFS handled the situation.
"I knew before they told us because of the way they were acting," Cotting said in explaining the chain of events leading up to DYFS officials giving her the news.
She said a DYFS lawyer told her, before breaking the news, "In 22 years we have never
had this happen."
Gannett New Jersey staff writer Michelle Sahn contributed to this report.
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20100304/UPDATES01/100304007/Baby+in+Monmouth+Co.+foster+home+suffocates++parents+told+in+court
17-month-old boy became trapped between toddler bed and wall, authorities said
BY CHARLES WEBSTER • GANNETT NEW JERSEY • MARCH 4, 2010
BRICK — A 17-month-old boy in the care of the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services suffocated overnight in his foster home, and his parents were told of the death when they went to court to try to regain custody of him.
Calel Mayland Wheeler died early Tuesday after apparently becoming trapped between the mattress of the toddler bed in which he was sleeping and the bedroom wall.
His parents, Carmen E. Cotting, 24, and Timothy J. Wheeler, 34, both of Claremont, N.H., are blaming the child welfare agency for their son's death.
"This is negligence," Wheeler said. "DYFS was negligent."
Cotting and Wheeler were scheduled to appear before state Superior Court Judge Robert A. Coogan on Tuesday morning.
"Our intention was to bring our kids home," Cotting said.
Instead, they were ushered into a room off of the courtroom and told the boy had died just hours before.
"Why weren't we called when this first happened?" Wheeler asked. "Why did they wait to tell us in court?"
Cotting says Calel and a 5-year-old son of the couple were placed in DYFS custody on Nov. 2, after she had come to New Jersey from New Hampshire but then was left homeless.
She had become embroiled in legal issues involving Carl Ray Smith, 53, of Laconia, N.H., whom Middletown police have accused of trying to pass a bad $54,000 check.
Police say the check was from a closed account of Cotting's, and she had disposed of it in a Dumpster. Both are facing charges in the case. Smith is in the Monmouth County Jail in Freehold Township on $20,000 bail, and Cotting was released on a summons.
Wheeler said he was unable to take custody of the boys in November because he was in a New Hampshire jail on a simple assault charge. He was released at the end of January.
Meanwhile, the boys were placed in a foster home in Brick. Wheeler said he learned a DYFS worker recently told the foster parents to remove the boy from a crib because it was on a recall list, but a new crib was not brought into the house.
Wheeler says his 17-month-old son apparently was put to sleep with a blanket in a toddler bed Monday night. Around 6 a.m. Tuesday, the boy was found dead in that bed.
Brick Detective William Ruocco and Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Detective Thomas Tiernan handled the investigation into the child's death.
An autopsy determined the death was accidental, caused by positional asphyxia, said Prosecutor's Office Deputy Chief Michael Mohel. He said no foul play is suspected.
Federal and state laws require DYFS to release certain information about child deaths or near-fatalities that result from child abuse or neglect, according to a news release issued by DYFS in July.
A DYFS spokeswoman declined to comment.
"Under state and federal law, only under specific circumstances can we acknowledge or discuss any involvement with a child in the child welfare system," spokeswoman Lauren Kidd said. "At this point, there is no comment or information we can offer."
Wheeler says he was given the same information on the boy's death by DYFS. But the parents want more answers.
"Why did they have a 17-month-old baby in a toddler's bed? And why was a 17-month-old baby alone in a room without a baby monitor? He should have been in a crib," Wheeler said, demanding answers about his son's death.
Instead, Wheeler says DYFS officials tried to get a gag order to keep him from speaking to the media.
He vowed, "Somebody is going to pay for this."
Cotting's father, who lives in in New Hampshire, was awarded temporary custody of the couple's 5-year-old son Wednesday afternoon, and the pair returned to their home state Wednesday evening to begin making arrangements for Calel's funeral.
They are waiting for their youngest son to be picked up by a New Hampshire funeral home.
The couple say they are troubled by the way DYFS handled the situation.
"I knew before they told us because of the way they were acting," Cotting said in explaining the chain of events leading up to DYFS officials giving her the news.
She said a DYFS lawyer told her, before breaking the news, "In 22 years we have never had this happen."
Brick Detective William Ruocco and Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Detective Thomas Tiernan handled the investigation into the child's death.
An autopsy determined the death was accidental, caused by positional asphyxia, said Prosecutor's Office Deputy Chief Michael Mohel. He said no foul play is suspected.
Federal and state laws require DYFS to release certain information about child deaths or near-fatalities that result from child abuse or neglect, according to a news release issued by DYFS in July.
A DYFS spokeswoman declined to comment.
"Under state and federal law, only under specific circumstances can we acknowledge or discuss any involvement with a child in the child welfare system," spokeswoman Lauren Kidd said. "At this point, there is no comment or information we can offer."
Wheeler says he was given the same information on the boy's death by DYFS. But the parents want more answers.
"Why did they have a 17-month-old baby in a toddler's bed? And why was a 17-month-old baby alone in a room without a baby monitor? He should have been in a crib," Wheeler said, demanding answers about his son's death.
Instead, Wheeler says DYFS officials tried to get a gag order to keep him from speaking to the media.
He vowed, "Somebody is going to pay for this."
Cotting's father, who lives in in New Hampshire, was awarded temporary custody of the couple's 5-year-old son Wednesday afternoon, and the pair returned to their home state Wednesday evening to begin making arrangements for Calel's funeral.
They are waiting for their youngest son to be picked up by a New Hampshire funeral home.
The couple say they are troubled by the way DYFS handled the situation.
"I knew before they told us because of the way they were acting," Cotting said in explaining the chain of events leading up to DYFS officials giving her the news.
She said a DYFS lawyer told her, before breaking the news, "In 22 years we have never
had this happen."
Gannett New Jersey staff writer Michelle Sahn contributed to this report.
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20100304/UPDATES01/100304007/Baby+in+Monmouth+Co.+foster+home+suffocates++parents+told+in+court
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Idaho Bill Puts Grandparents First For Foster Care of Grandchildren
Idaho Bill Puts Grandparents First For Foster Care of Grandchildren
AARP Strongly Supports Measure Focusing on Family Caring for Children When Parents are Unable or Unwilling
BOISE, Idaho, March 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Harsh economic times, drugs, abuse, abandonment and incarceration are just some of the reasons 9% of all children live with their grandparents. Now, Idaho is one step closer to a new law to help grandparents gain full legal custody when it's in the child's best interest.
Yesterday, the Idaho House Health and Welfare Committee unanimously voted to move forward with legislation (HB 610), introduced by Representative Sharon Block, to put grandparents and other relatives at the top of the list for consideration as foster parents. The legislation was co-sponsored by Senator Patti Anne Lodge and Representatives Richard Wills and Representative Lynn Luker. AARP strongly supports the "grandparenting" bill.
"AARP commends Representative Block for her leadership in helping to ensure children from broken homes don't have to lead broken lives," said Peggy Munson, Volunteer State President for AARP in Idaho. "This legislation recognizes the unique role grandparents play in their grandchildren's lives – and that sometimes, the best place for children who've already seen difficult times is with family members."
Key provisions of the grandparenting bill include:
Establishing a priority list for foster care, placing fit and willing grandparents and other relatives first in line for consideration.
Expediting the process for foster care approval for relatives when it's in the best interest of the child.
Giving grandparents better standing to become foster parents of their grandchildren when the parent has failed to maintain a relationship with the child for one year.
"Children deserve to have a solid family foundation from which to build upon and this bill works towards that goal," added Munson. "AARP urges the House to approve this bill."
In Idaho nearly 20,000 children live in households headed by over 9,000 grandparents. Nationally, 6.6 million grandchildren live in households headed by grandparents, while another 1.5 million live in homes headed by other relatives. Grandparents raising their grandchildren represent the fastest growing type of family in the nation. In many cases grandparents are responsible for meeting all the child's needs without the legal authorization to do so.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/idaho-bill-puts-grandparents-first-for-foster-care-of-grandchildren-86226702.html
AARP Strongly Supports Measure Focusing on Family Caring for Children When Parents are Unable or Unwilling
BOISE, Idaho, March 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Harsh economic times, drugs, abuse, abandonment and incarceration are just some of the reasons 9% of all children live with their grandparents. Now, Idaho is one step closer to a new law to help grandparents gain full legal custody when it's in the child's best interest.
Yesterday, the Idaho House Health and Welfare Committee unanimously voted to move forward with legislation (HB 610), introduced by Representative Sharon Block, to put grandparents and other relatives at the top of the list for consideration as foster parents. The legislation was co-sponsored by Senator Patti Anne Lodge and Representatives Richard Wills and Representative Lynn Luker. AARP strongly supports the "grandparenting" bill.
"AARP commends Representative Block for her leadership in helping to ensure children from broken homes don't have to lead broken lives," said Peggy Munson, Volunteer State President for AARP in Idaho. "This legislation recognizes the unique role grandparents play in their grandchildren's lives – and that sometimes, the best place for children who've already seen difficult times is with family members."
Key provisions of the grandparenting bill include:
Establishing a priority list for foster care, placing fit and willing grandparents and other relatives first in line for consideration.
Expediting the process for foster care approval for relatives when it's in the best interest of the child.
Giving grandparents better standing to become foster parents of their grandchildren when the parent has failed to maintain a relationship with the child for one year.
"Children deserve to have a solid family foundation from which to build upon and this bill works towards that goal," added Munson. "AARP urges the House to approve this bill."
In Idaho nearly 20,000 children live in households headed by over 9,000 grandparents. Nationally, 6.6 million grandchildren live in households headed by grandparents, while another 1.5 million live in homes headed by other relatives. Grandparents raising their grandchildren represent the fastest growing type of family in the nation. In many cases grandparents are responsible for meeting all the child's needs without the legal authorization to do so.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/idaho-bill-puts-grandparents-first-for-foster-care-of-grandchildren-86226702.html
6 Children Removed From Home Of Foster Parent
6 Children Removed From Home Of Foster Parent
Mark Hild Faces 2 Counts Of Sexual Assault Of A Child
POSTED: 3:56 pm CST March 3, 2010
UPDATED: 5:11 pm CST March 3, 2010
OMAHA, Neb. --
A licensed foster care parent and youth group director has been jailed on suspicion of sexually assaulting two children.
Mark Hild, 43, went before a judge Wednesday and agreed to allow his case to go straight to trial. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child.
Investigators said Hild assaulted an 11- and 13-year-old girl between September and November 2009. They said he knew the girls. Hild is accused of assaulting each girl several times.
Hild works for UPS and is a member of First Christian Church near 66th and Dodge streets. Until Wednesday, he was the church's youth director.
Pastor Rene Jensen didn’t want to go on camera, but instead released a statement.
"We grieve deeply for the Hild family in this extraordinarily difficult time and hold them in our prayers. At this time we have no reason to believe there are victims within the church, but are working with a team of professionals from Project Harmony to care for our youth and their families, whose well-being is our paramount concern."
Hild's parents were in court Wednesday. They said they just don't believe the claims.
But the two young girls are getting counseling, and investigators are wondering if more people will come forward with claims of abuse.
Marty Bilek
"These investigations are always tough," said Chief Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy Marty Bilek. "These types of adults will look for places where they can go, events to get involved with that involve young children, exposure to young children, and contemplate next victim."
KETV NewsWatch 7 has learned Hild and his wife have been foster parents since 2002, and just recently started the adoption process.
Health and Human Services said it has halted that process. Six children have been removed from the couple's home.
http://www.ketv.com/news/22731788/detail.html
Mark Hild Faces 2 Counts Of Sexual Assault Of A Child
POSTED: 3:56 pm CST March 3, 2010
UPDATED: 5:11 pm CST March 3, 2010
OMAHA, Neb. --
A licensed foster care parent and youth group director has been jailed on suspicion of sexually assaulting two children.
Mark Hild, 43, went before a judge Wednesday and agreed to allow his case to go straight to trial. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child.
Investigators said Hild assaulted an 11- and 13-year-old girl between September and November 2009. They said he knew the girls. Hild is accused of assaulting each girl several times.
Hild works for UPS and is a member of First Christian Church near 66th and Dodge streets. Until Wednesday, he was the church's youth director.
Pastor Rene Jensen didn’t want to go on camera, but instead released a statement.
"We grieve deeply for the Hild family in this extraordinarily difficult time and hold them in our prayers. At this time we have no reason to believe there are victims within the church, but are working with a team of professionals from Project Harmony to care for our youth and their families, whose well-being is our paramount concern."
Hild's parents were in court Wednesday. They said they just don't believe the claims.
But the two young girls are getting counseling, and investigators are wondering if more people will come forward with claims of abuse.
Marty Bilek
"These investigations are always tough," said Chief Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy Marty Bilek. "These types of adults will look for places where they can go, events to get involved with that involve young children, exposure to young children, and contemplate next victim."
KETV NewsWatch 7 has learned Hild and his wife have been foster parents since 2002, and just recently started the adoption process.
Health and Human Services said it has halted that process. Six children have been removed from the couple's home.
http://www.ketv.com/news/22731788/detail.html
MANSLAUGHTER TRIAL Co-Worker Testifies At DCF Employee's Manslaughter Trial
MANSLAUGHTER TRIAL
Co-Worker Testifies At DCF Employee's Manslaughter Trial
By CHRISTINE DEMPSEY
The Hartford Courant
March 3, 2010
Suzanne Listro was "embarrassed and ashamed" after her foster baby died in 2008 and didn't want to talk to some of her own family members about it, a child welfare investigator testified Tuesday during Listro's manslaughter trial.
Michael Pitruzzello's statements came on the third day of testimony at Superior Court in Rockville. Like Pitruzzello, Listro was an employee of the state Department of Children and Families at the time of 7-month-old Michael Brown Jr.'s death. The death prompted a series of changes at the child protection agency; Listro had been accused of abusing her adopted 3-year-old child twice before Michael died.
Tuesday afternoon, Pitruzzello testified that he received a call about the death of a child at 10:45 p.m. on May 19, 2008. When he arrived at Hartford Hospital, he said, he found a distraught Listro, "slumped over." He asked her about the status of her 3-year-old son, and she said the boy was with her sister in Massachusetts. She said she had other relatives, but "she felt embarrassed and ashamed and didn't want to talk to them at that time," he testified.
She told Pitruzzello that sometime after 7 p.m., after she had changed the baby's diaper on her bed in her Mansfield home, she "heard a thud," and heard Michael crying, he testified.
She picked him up, but he stopped crying and went limp, she told him. She tried to resuscitate him, and called 911, Pitruzzello testified.
The state, however, concluded that Michael's death was not an accident. His fatal injuries were consistent with the baby's having been shaken, Dr. Paul Kanev testified Monday.
The baby's biological father, Michael Brown Sr., and half-brother, Marco Rivera, also testified Tuesday. They said during cross-examination by one of Listro's lawyers, Hubert Santos, that the baby was capable of rolling over.
Brown Sr. also described the events that caused him and the baby's mother to lose custody of Michael less than two weeks before he died. He said he and the mother, Angelica Burgos, left the baby with a neighbor to get high, returning two days later.
He also described the last day he saw the baby, during a DCF-supervised visit. Michael had a cold and looked "underweight," Brown said, but he was cheerful.
"We fed him and played with him," he said. "I held him in my arms."
Copyright © 2010, The Hartford Courant
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-briefsbox12mar03,0,7088545.story
Co-Worker Testifies At DCF Employee's Manslaughter Trial
By CHRISTINE DEMPSEY
The Hartford Courant
March 3, 2010
Suzanne Listro was "embarrassed and ashamed" after her foster baby died in 2008 and didn't want to talk to some of her own family members about it, a child welfare investigator testified Tuesday during Listro's manslaughter trial.
Michael Pitruzzello's statements came on the third day of testimony at Superior Court in Rockville. Like Pitruzzello, Listro was an employee of the state Department of Children and Families at the time of 7-month-old Michael Brown Jr.'s death. The death prompted a series of changes at the child protection agency; Listro had been accused of abusing her adopted 3-year-old child twice before Michael died.
Tuesday afternoon, Pitruzzello testified that he received a call about the death of a child at 10:45 p.m. on May 19, 2008. When he arrived at Hartford Hospital, he said, he found a distraught Listro, "slumped over." He asked her about the status of her 3-year-old son, and she said the boy was with her sister in Massachusetts. She said she had other relatives, but "she felt embarrassed and ashamed and didn't want to talk to them at that time," he testified.
She told Pitruzzello that sometime after 7 p.m., after she had changed the baby's diaper on her bed in her Mansfield home, she "heard a thud," and heard Michael crying, he testified.
She picked him up, but he stopped crying and went limp, she told him. She tried to resuscitate him, and called 911, Pitruzzello testified.
The state, however, concluded that Michael's death was not an accident. His fatal injuries were consistent with the baby's having been shaken, Dr. Paul Kanev testified Monday.
The baby's biological father, Michael Brown Sr., and half-brother, Marco Rivera, also testified Tuesday. They said during cross-examination by one of Listro's lawyers, Hubert Santos, that the baby was capable of rolling over.
Brown Sr. also described the events that caused him and the baby's mother to lose custody of Michael less than two weeks before he died. He said he and the mother, Angelica Burgos, left the baby with a neighbor to get high, returning two days later.
He also described the last day he saw the baby, during a DCF-supervised visit. Michael had a cold and looked "underweight," Brown said, but he was cheerful.
"We fed him and played with him," he said. "I held him in my arms."
Copyright © 2010, The Hartford Courant
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-briefsbox12mar03,0,7088545.story
Definition of Due Process- (Someone tell the judges)
Definition of Due Process - (Someone tell the judges)
From the Family Rights Association
"The essential elements of due process of law are notice, an opportunity to be heard, and the right to defend in an orderly proceeding." Fiehe v. R.E. Householder Co., 125 So. 2, 7 (Fla. 1929).
"To dispense with notice before taking property is likened to obtaining judgement without the defendant having ever been summoned." Mayor of Baltimore vs. Scharf, 54 Md. 499, 519 (1880).
"An orderly proceeding wherein a person is served with notice, actual or constructive, and has an opportunity to be heard and to enforce and protect his rights before a court having power to hear and determine the case. Kazubowski v. Kazubowski, 45 Ill.2d 405, 259, N.E.2d 282, 290." Black's Law Dictionary, 6th Edition, page 500.
"Due Process of law implies and comprehends the administration of laws equally applicable to all under established rules which do not violate fundamental principles of private rights, and in a competent tribunal possessing jurisdiction of the cause and proceeding upon justice. It is founded upon the basic principle that every man shall have his day in court, and the benefit of the general law which proceeds only upon notice and which hears and considers before judgement is rendered." State v. Green, 232 S.W.2d 897, 903 (Mo. 1950).
"Phrase means that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, property or of any right granted him by statute, unless matter involved first shall have been adjudicated against him upon trial conducted according to established rules regulating judicial proceedings, and it forbids condemnation without a hearing, Pettit v. Penn., La.App., 180 So.2d 66, 69." Black's Law Dictionary, 6th Edition, page 500.
"Due Process of law implies the right of the person affected thereby to be present before the tribunal which pronounces judgement upon the question of life, liberty, or property, in its most comprehensive sense; to be heard, by testimony or otherwise, and to have the right of controverting, by proof, every material fact which bears on the question of right in the matter involved. If any question of fact or liability be conclusively presumed against him, this is not due process of law." Black's Law Dictionary, 6th Edition, page 500.
"Aside from all else, 'due process' means fundamental fairness and substantial justice. Vaughn v. State, 3 Tenn.Crim.App. 54, 456 S.W.2d 879, 883." Black's Law Dictionary, 6th Edition, page 500.
Due process is best defined in one word--fairness. Throughout the U.S.'s history, its constitutions, statutes and case law have provided standards for fair treatment of citizens by federal, state and local governments. These standards are known as due process. When a person is treated unfairly by the government, including the courts, he is said to have been deprived of or denied due process.
Example: Ezra and Sharon married in New York and had a son, Darwin. They divorced and Sharon moved to California; Darwin stayed with Ezra. Darwin later moved to California to live with Sharon; Sharon sued Ezra for child support in California. Ezra claimed that because he didn't live in California and had never been to California it would be unfair (a denial of due process) for him to defend the child support lawsuit in California. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed, saying that Sharon should bring her child support request in New York. Kulko v. Superior Court, 436 U.S. 84 (1978).
From the U.S. Constitution
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment XIV.
Section. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Section. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
From the Georgia Constitution
Article 1. Bill of Rights
Section I. Rights of Persons
Paragraph I. Life, liberty, and property.
No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property except by due process of law.
Paragraph II. Protection to person and property; equal protection. Protection to person and property is the paramount duty of government and shall be impartial and complete. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws.
http://www.familyrightsassociation.com/bin/definition_due_process_.htm
From the Family Rights Association
"The essential elements of due process of law are notice, an opportunity to be heard, and the right to defend in an orderly proceeding." Fiehe v. R.E. Householder Co., 125 So. 2, 7 (Fla. 1929).
"To dispense with notice before taking property is likened to obtaining judgement without the defendant having ever been summoned." Mayor of Baltimore vs. Scharf, 54 Md. 499, 519 (1880).
"An orderly proceeding wherein a person is served with notice, actual or constructive, and has an opportunity to be heard and to enforce and protect his rights before a court having power to hear and determine the case. Kazubowski v. Kazubowski, 45 Ill.2d 405, 259, N.E.2d 282, 290." Black's Law Dictionary, 6th Edition, page 500.
"Due Process of law implies and comprehends the administration of laws equally applicable to all under established rules which do not violate fundamental principles of private rights, and in a competent tribunal possessing jurisdiction of the cause and proceeding upon justice. It is founded upon the basic principle that every man shall have his day in court, and the benefit of the general law which proceeds only upon notice and which hears and considers before judgement is rendered." State v. Green, 232 S.W.2d 897, 903 (Mo. 1950).
"Phrase means that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, property or of any right granted him by statute, unless matter involved first shall have been adjudicated against him upon trial conducted according to established rules regulating judicial proceedings, and it forbids condemnation without a hearing, Pettit v. Penn., La.App., 180 So.2d 66, 69." Black's Law Dictionary, 6th Edition, page 500.
"Due Process of law implies the right of the person affected thereby to be present before the tribunal which pronounces judgement upon the question of life, liberty, or property, in its most comprehensive sense; to be heard, by testimony or otherwise, and to have the right of controverting, by proof, every material fact which bears on the question of right in the matter involved. If any question of fact or liability be conclusively presumed against him, this is not due process of law." Black's Law Dictionary, 6th Edition, page 500.
"Aside from all else, 'due process' means fundamental fairness and substantial justice. Vaughn v. State, 3 Tenn.Crim.App. 54, 456 S.W.2d 879, 883." Black's Law Dictionary, 6th Edition, page 500.
Due process is best defined in one word--fairness. Throughout the U.S.'s history, its constitutions, statutes and case law have provided standards for fair treatment of citizens by federal, state and local governments. These standards are known as due process. When a person is treated unfairly by the government, including the courts, he is said to have been deprived of or denied due process.
Example: Ezra and Sharon married in New York and had a son, Darwin. They divorced and Sharon moved to California; Darwin stayed with Ezra. Darwin later moved to California to live with Sharon; Sharon sued Ezra for child support in California. Ezra claimed that because he didn't live in California and had never been to California it would be unfair (a denial of due process) for him to defend the child support lawsuit in California. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed, saying that Sharon should bring her child support request in New York. Kulko v. Superior Court, 436 U.S. 84 (1978).
From the U.S. Constitution
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment XIV.
Section. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section. 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Section. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
From the Georgia Constitution
Article 1. Bill of Rights
Section I. Rights of Persons
Paragraph I. Life, liberty, and property.
No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property except by due process of law.
Paragraph II. Protection to person and property; equal protection. Protection to person and property is the paramount duty of government and shall be impartial and complete. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws.
http://www.familyrightsassociation.com/bin/definition_due_process_.htm
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