GUILTY OR - Kirk Garrison for sexual abuse of adopted kids, Waldport, 2007

I've been periodically checking to see when Jeanette Maples' parents' trial is planned. She was the young teen who was brutally tortured to death last year. I found a bit of an update here in a commentary in the Eugene, OR newspaper. They discuss the Maples case but also mention a case I'd never heard of--that of Kirk Garrison of Waldport.

OK, I live in Oregon--about 150 miles from Waldport. My whole life revolves around adoption and now foster care. I am good friends with case workers and attorneys working in the system. I'm also very attuned to news stories concerning the abuse of children (especially children with special needs) AND I'm an Oregon taxpayer. Why in heck did I not know this? This really hit me broadsides.

http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cm...32573-46/foster-garrison-abuse-county-dhs.csp (part 1)

http://special.registerguard.com/turin/2010/nov/22/breaking-down-the-breakdowns/ (part 2)


Foster dad found the ‘perfect prey’

In a Waldport [OR] home, according to Lincoln County Circuit Judge Thomas Branford, foster children were given not love but “rape and sodomy and sexual abuse”

".....Kirk Garrison Sr., a 48-year-old Waldport man to whose home the state sent more than 100 foster children between 1996 and 2006, was sentenced this summer to 44½ years in state prison.

A Lincoln County jury convicted Garrison of repeatedly raping, sodomizing and sexually abusing two of his adopted foster children — a developmentally disabled daughter and a son — and sexually abusing two of his other foster children.

Garrison’s trial in Newport lasted 11 weeks, from March to June, one of the longest trials in Lincoln County history...."

and

"....With virtually no media attention, the case of the 48-year-old Garrison apparently fell under the radar of the state’s top child welfare officials, despite his trial in Newport this past spring lasting 11 weeks. He was convicted and sentenced in July to 44½ years in prison for raping, sodomizing and sexually abusing an adopted son and daughter between 2002 and 2006...."

more at link (Excellent commentary and investigative reporting, IMO. I highly recommend it for all those in Oregon and anyone in child welfare)


Here's some more info:

http://www.newportnewstimes.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=23546&page=72


I answered my own question. The Oregonian (from Portland), the Statesman Journal (of Salem, our capitol and home of DHS), nor the Register Guard (of Eugene) failed to carry the story. That is appalling to me. This was the longest trial EVER in Lincoln County. Many children were affected. Why would our state's three largest newspapers not carry the story? I would never think to check the tiny Newport News Times. Very very worrisome.

Well, Mr. Garrison is no longer "under the radar". His sorry name is on WS. Shame on him.

I remember this case very clearly. And, I followed it religiously at first. Then I forgot because there has been nothing forever. Thank you for bringing Jeanette Maples name back to me. This poor, sweet child deserved so much more than she got.

Then again, all of the ones that we read about on here deserved a better hand than they were dealt.

Seems like the world has gone to hell in a basket, & the innocent ones, the babies (infant-infinity) the ones wanting to please, needing/wanting love, desperate for it, are so agreeable to a fault that these parents just use them for punching bags.

Just like DARE is taught in schools, I honestly think that they should be teaching kids if physical violence occurs within your home (a child's comfort zone), & you don't feel safe, get out, go to someone that you trust, your neighbor, friend, relative, & say "You've got to believe me, xyz just happened, call the police"

Physical/sexual violence in the home, is what I meant to say, typing too fast because I'm mad. If a child witnesses either of these in their home, they should be told that it is wrong, & that the appropriate measures are in place to keep them safe.

I would open my door & believe a neighborhood child if they told me this, wouldn't everyone else?

Then the rest would be left up to the experts, which is where faith comes in.

Everything depends on the budget. Just like DARE. Sadly DARE is not being taught in all schools any longer. Many schools also don't have the money for sex ed and personal safety programs. In fact, not all parents want them in the schools.

As so many have said before me, children don't have a vote, therefore they get the short end of the stick. My hat is off the Register Guard. It's pretty shocking to check the archives of the Oregonian (the primary "go to" Oregon newspaper) and see NO reference to this case. Not one.

Garrison knew just what he was doing. If he and his wife had 100 children through their home AND specialized in kids with sexual abuse, he was able to act out almost with impunity. These poor children are reeling and have no clear idea where the boundaries are.

When we set out to adopt, we were very specific that we wanted to adopt children with no known sexual abuse (one can never be certain). We could see that we were going to get big and we did not want to have to work with sexually reactive children. That's why our rape case was so horridly ironic. Here we had this large group of very innocent children who became sexualized through rape. Talk about a trainwreck. I still want to rage at the heavens, "It just is NOT fair." To this day, we do not choose to serve children with sexual abuse in their background. We far prefer working with children who have developmentally disabilities but a sense of age appropriateness. I will gladly live with Beverly Cleary books, Lego, jigsaw puzzles, and Hannah Montana until the cows come home. Even then, hormones and boundaries must be continuously dealt with.

I also want to make certain that we remember that the man sentenced in this case is a "Sr." I surely do not want his children suffering any more than they already have.