AR - Rep. Harris rehomed his adopted daughter to man who sexually abused her

[K_Z]

http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlo...aking-of-justin-harris-cleaning-up-the-record

Article says attempts are underway to scrub all references of the rehoming from JH's Wikipedia page, as well as other online sources. Must be at the advice of the PR firm he recently hired?

Interesting wiki revision history!

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Justin_Harris&action=history

 

[kaen]

I am still on the fence regarding the role of the church in this. There is a long sliding scale of possibilities--from the church itself being victimized by a predator using the congregation as a hunting ground for vulnerable children all the way to honoring and giving support to the predator. And there is a long grey space in between filled with denial and good intentions.

Mr Harris is owner of the Daycare, which is connected to the church, no? I don't think Mr. Harris or the church leaders knew they had a pedophile n their midst. That said, I think they put religious desires (the result of which is declining enrollment based on grant restrictions of teaching religion) and fishing for children to adopt before their parishioners. Low cost daycares often have kids whose families are vulnerable financially or structurally. In that sense, the Harris family could cultivate relationships that might lead to an adoption.

On another note, for two people with child development degrees, Marsha and Justin seem to have few skills in moving through difficult transitions. With kids who have been abused or abandoned, it takes more than a good heart, a good relationship with your g-d, and good support as there is a lot of blood, sweat and tears.

I find it hard to believe that a female child who had been abused was placed in a family with three boys who were older than she. Although we do not know the circumstances of her abuse, it is likely that it occurred with a male so siblings who can be close to puberty are not a good match unless she has received intensive ongoing therapy.

 

[K_Z]

I am still on the fence regarding the role of the church in this. There is a long sliding scale of possibilities--from the church itself being victimized by a predator using the congregation as a hunting ground for vulnerable children all the way to honoring and giving support to the predator. And there is a long grey space in between filled with denial and good intentions.

In my way above post, I also said I "noted" the connections of all of the issues here with their church community. I'm not sure what to make of it yet, either-- as you say, the church community could be the victims, or the enablers, of much of this.

I listened to the 30 min interview by Drew Pertrimoulx and JH. I'm actually pretty shocked at the lengths he and his wife went to, to "hurry up" the adoptions, as well as the extreme lengths they went to avoid DHS involvement. That set my hinky meter clanging again. All I heard was a litany of excuses and blaming.

And I might also add, that for someone with a child development degree, he certainly isn't well spoken in that area of his comments, and sounded like an adolescent describing how he and his wife met at a child counseling program, and "agreed" they wanted an abused child. Like they wanted some abused kids kids to "practice" on, or something. That just doesn't sit well with me on a number of levels-- maybe he's just not a very professional or eloquent speaker (strange for a politician), but I cannot fathom any counselor or child development professional describing their "desires" to adopt vulnerable children in that manner. It made me quite angry to listen to that. Like the kids were a commodity. There seems to be absolutely no insight about how bringing these abused and vulnerable children into their family would affect their 3 boys.

The whole 30 min interview was very disturbing, IMO. It raised more questions than it answered.

A nice little tidbit was that Eric Francis resigned, but wasn't fired. Because he was in the seminary at Liberty University, and didn't have "time" to do his job at the preschool. And the comment that EH was a "home pastor", or something like that.

 

[Margo/Mom]

In my way above post, I also said I "noted" the connections of all of the issues here with their church community. I'm not sure what to make of it yet, either-- as you say, the church community could be the victims, or the enablers, of much of this.

I listened to the 30 min interview by Drew Pertrimoulx and JH. I'm actually pretty shocked at the lengths he and his wife went to, to "hurry up" the adoptions, as well as the extreme lengths they went to avoid DHS involvement. That set my hinky meter clanging again. All I heard was a litany of excuses and blaming.

And I might also add, that for someone with a child development degree, he certainly isn't well spoken in that area of his comments, and sounded like an adolescent describing how he and his wife met at a child counseling program, and "agreed" they wanted an abused child. Like they wanted some abused kids kids to "practice" on, or something. That just doesn't sit well with me on a number of levels-- maybe he's just not a very professional or eloquent speaker (strange for a politician), but I cannot fathom any counselor or child development professional describing their "desires" to adopt vulnerable children in that manner. It made me quite angry to listen to that. Like the kids were a commodity. There seems to be absolutely no insight about how bringing these abused and vulnerable children into their family would affect their 3 boys.

The whole 30 min interview was very disturbing, IMO. It raised more questions than it answered.

A nice little tidbit was that Eric Francis resigned, but wasn't fired. Because he was in the seminary at Liberty University, and didn't have "time" to do his job at the preschool. And the comment that EH was a "home pastor", or something like that.

U
Liberty u raises red flags for me.

 

[K_Z]

Is the preschool actually part of a church? JH goes to great lengths to discuss that the preschool is a privately owned family business. Says that on his official legislative bio page as well.

His religious affiliation is listed differently in several sources.

 

[K_Z]

Simply going on the heights of the boys in various pics, it appears that the youngest one would not have been much older than the younger of the 2 girls at the time of fostering and adoption. And quite close in age for the middle girl, and his middle son. And close in age for the oldest girl and his oldest son. (Remember his adoption tweet about not quite being the Duggar family yet, but instead being the Brady Bunch?) That raises red flags for any kind of adoption, let alone one involving abused siblings.

I also noted that JH's wife has a very serious health issue she was newly diagnosed with during this timeframe. Even with the type of pancreatic cancer that has a "better" prognosis, that is a serious diagnosis that will require a lot of medical care, appointments, they were traveling to TX for treatments, etc. So that only adds to the full picture of why they were avoiding official DHS oversight.

There is just nothing coming out about this situation that bolsters their position that their home was a good situation for the girls in the first place. There are enormous red flags all over the place. And their private "pro bono" adoption attorney, IMO, appears to be a very big enabler of the whole process.

Loved the part where JH goes into so much detail about how they wouldn't have been able to afford an attorney. That rings pretty hollow to me, for a third term legislator with a lot of connections.

 

[Hiandmighty]

http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlo...aking-of-justin-harris-cleaning-up-the-record

Article says attempts are underway to scrub all references of the rehoming from JH's Wikipedia page, as well as other online sources. Must be at the advice of the PR firm he recently hired?

Interesting wiki revision history!

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Justin_Harris&action=history

The problem is, people aren't following protocol by making objective statements and backing them up with a link.

If someone worked on this properly and added a new category thst says something like: 2015 adoption incident and then linked it up properly, it would maybe stay.

 

[Hiandmighty]

Double post.

 

[RazTaz]

Is the preschool actually part of a church? JH goes to great lengths to discuss that the preschool is a privately owned family business. Says that on his official legislative bio page as well.

His religious affiliation is listed differently in several sources.

No, the preschool is not part of any church. I know this as a fact.

 

[K_Z]

If you listen carefully to JH's 30 min interview with Drew Petrimoulx, the supposed "threat" of abandonment charges that JH and his wife acted on, NEVER came from DHS directly. (The threat that prompted them to "rehome" the 2 girls with Eric Francis and his wife. When he felt he had "no other options".) It was "a friend of a friend of a friend" comment by his own description-- nothing official, and probably just a casual conversation, from what JH describes. And that then caused him to fear losing his 3 bio-kids? That's just not a reasonable, or rational way to think, IMO.

That's just not a believable story, on any level, IMO. That a third term legislator would act in such an extreme manner, and avoid all DHS oversight, on simply a "rumor" by hearsay. That sounds like a made up excuse after the fact, IMO. (And he is getting more practiced at his Mea Culpa interviews, now that he's had a bit to think about how to phrase it.)

There needs to be much more strident calls this week for this legislator to resign immediately, IMO. He has no business making important legislative decisions for others, when he has demonstrated such abysmal decision making, hollow excuses, and hypocrisy, in his personal life, IMO.

He needs to be given the opportunity to have more personal time to focus on his family, and be out of the public eye, and relieved of decision making at the legislature, IMO. I hope there is a full criminal investigation, because I think what we know is only the tip of a larger iceberg.

 

[shadowraiths]

The Francis family took the children in October 2013, and the Harrises continued to provide food and clothing and set up doctors appointments for the children, Harris said.

The Harris continued to cash the $820 monthly state subsidies the family got for taking care of the girls and then forwarded that money to the Francis family, Harris said.

Harris said Eric Francis had a stellar reference sheet, including time spent as a Head Start instructor, a pre-kindergarten teacher in Bentonville public schools. He was also a family pastor.

Francis also had an interest in child *advertiser censored*, according to court records.

[...]

State police investigators found other young girls who accused Francis of sexually assaulting them while on a trip to a lake with members of a church.

During interviews with investigators, Francis' wife told Arkansas State Police that her husband viewed *advertiser censored* and that on at least one occasion, she found him with child *advertiser censored* and that she was appalled.

Francis had told his wife he discovered those images by accident, but shortly before his arrest, he confided in an acquaintance that he had been viewing child *advertiser censored* for years and he hated himself for it, according to investigators.

Harris left his news conference Friday before he could be asked whether he knew about Francis' past with child *advertiser censored*, but he had said he and his wife had no reason to believe the Francises wouldn't be a good fit for their two girls.
​

link

 

[MyBelle]

One thing I wonder about: Francis confessed to the sexual abuse after the child reported it. In my limited experience that's not something people readily confess to unless the evidence is overwhelming. I'm wondering what they had on this guy.

I have to wonder if Harris really fired him for absenteeism or did the classroom security video record inappropriate behavior.

I also wonder if there is some kind of religious cult involved in this and the way they are populating it is via international and foster care adoptions. Whatever is going on, it stinks and I applaud the foster parents for coming forward and pointing out that DHS and the Judge both turned a blind eye.

Victor Barnard finally got caught and it is simply amazing how these creeps can control the minds of adults to the point they willingly turned their daughters over to him.

http://www.startribune.com/local/east/295498081.html

 

[wendybtn]

I was taught growing up that being adopted erases what came before and let's you go freely down the road of your life, as a full-fledged member of your new family. I have never heard of rehoming kids, adopted or otherwise. You know this child molester had to have gotten fired because a parent/child complained about him. I do not care if they say it was because he was late. And then he turned over children in the age group the molester prefers right to him to abuse in the privacy of his own home. I wonder how much Harris paid the complaining family from the day care.

 

[wendybtn]

Is it normal to rehome adopted children into a family where the man is unemployed? Then give him a job without doing a background check? I can type someone's name into the Tennessee RSO site and find out for free if they have convictions; East Tennessee mugshots to see if they've been arrested for anything, also for free. Mr. Harris' story is not believable on too many levels.

 

[K_Z]

So, Cecile Blucker, head of DCFS, was JH's close confidante when he needed pressure to "hurry up" the adoption, over the objections of the local adoption team. BUT-- his close relationship with Cecile Blucker prevented him from getting help from DHS, when things become difficult at home?? Talk about talking out of both sides of your mouth! Which story are we supposed to believe??

2) The murky role of Cecile Blucker, director of Children and Family Services at DHS. DCFS Director Cecile Blucker is the person ultimately in charge of adoption and foster care for the state of Arkansas. Harris said Blucker is the one who informed him of the possibility of an abandonment charge when he and Marsha were struggling to handle the girls. In the interview with Petrimoux, he said "I did go to her and ... we were told we could get the charge of abandonment ... I talked privately, constantly, being on the [House] committee of Children and Youth, with Cecile Blucker."

But the Harts believe Blucker's influence made the adoption happen in the first place. They say she exerted pressure on people in the local DHS team that had previously objected to the Harris adoption.

"In most conversations with us, [Harris] would mention Cecile's name. 'Well, Cecile said this, Cecile said that.' They were impatient for papers to be filed and did not want to wait for anything. They wanted it to happen faster than it did," Cheryl Hart said.

The Times asked the former DHS employee whether the wishes of the local adoption team were not followed because of Blucker. The former employee responded, simply, "True."

The Times also asked DHS spokesperson Amy Webb whether Blucker had ever corresponded with Rep. Harris about influencing the outcome of an adoption proceeding. Webb said she would look into the question and provide us with a response.

By the time the Harris adoption went before a juvenile judge in the summer of 2012, Cheryl said, many on the DHS team had changed their recommendations. "Everyone testifying before the judge had stipulations, like 'to be followed up', 'to continue their therapy at Children's House [a specialized treatment center for abused kids],' but nobody would say, 'We really don't think this is a good idea.'

"And at the hearing, the ad litem attorney — you know, the one who is representing only the interests of the children — said, 'When we met less than a couple of days ago, everyone's recommendation was for these kids to not go to this home. Now, what has happened in the last 24 hours that everyone's recommendation has changed?'"

"Harris' face was getting all red," Cheryl said. "And the ad litem asked him, 'Did you make calls?' And he finally said, 'I did what I had to do to get these girls.' I expected the judge would [stop the adoption] but she gave them the oldest girl." The younger two soon followed.

http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlo...mily-disputes-key-staments-from-justin-harris

BBM. I'm thinking there should be LOUD and STRIDENT calls in Arkansas for the AG to appoint a special prosecutor to look into this mess.

 

[MyBelle]

Is it normal to rehome adopted children into a family where the man is unemployed? Then give him a job without doing a background check? I can type someone's name into the Tennessee RSO site and find out for free if they have convictions; East Tennessee mugshots to see if they've been arrested for anything, also for free. Mr. Harris' story is not believable on too many levels.

At this point, I don't believe anything Harris says. My state now has a policy that a non-relative foster home has to be already financially stable and that it will not be dependent on the foster care stipend to support the entire family. I don't know that Arkansas has such a policy but I'm pretty sure Harris knows all policies and also how to game the system.

JMO

 

[kaen]

I am not in Arkansas so I don't know the regulations about financial stability. I do know that in our adoptions we had to prove that we had the financial ability to support our children including health insurance. We were not adopting through foster care though.

I just don't get the sense that the Harris family took the home study process to heart. Questions about how we would handle physical, psychological, and discipline issues were a deep part of our home study. Toddler and young child adoption feels like those issues need to be even more focused on to make sure that the family is secure.

I am having such a hard time giving this family any slack.

 

[shadowraiths]

In February of 2014, a few months before Eric Francis was arrested for sexually assaulting not only Harris’s six-year-old daughter, but two other girls as well, the Harrises learned that the girls would be going to live with a third family, to whom they signed over guardianship and gave consent for them to adopt the girls.

The reason for the Francis family to turn over the girls to a third family — before anyone knew the six-year-old had been abused — was not disclosed. At the new family’s request, the Harrises now have no contact with the girls.

She was terrifying, but not so much that she couldn’t be used on Harris’s 2012 campaign website​

Reuters’ excellent look at “rehoming” can be found here.
Mostly, it’s a whole bunch of pedophiles.​

link

 

[K_Z]

shadowraiths-- thank you for posting that pic. I've read on some other sites that were looking for someone who still had the campaign photos from JH's first term campaign. The implication was that one or more of the girls was in the family campaign photo, and that adoption (at the time) may have been beneficial to JH's "family values" platform.

 

[liljim]

I am not in Arkansas so I don't know the regulations about financial stability. I do know that in our adoptions we had to prove that we had the financial ability to support our children including health insurance. We were not adopting through foster care though.

I just don't get the sense that the Harris family took the home study process to heart. Questions about how we would handle physical, psychological, and discipline issues were a deep part of our home study. Toddler and young child adoption feels like those issues need to be even more focused on to make sure that the family is secure.

I am having such a hard time giving this family any slack.

yeah, the information in the newest article (with the old foster family) makes it even clearer that the harris' did not appreciate the process at the very outset, i was afraid that was going to be the case.

there is a lot of alarming new information in that article and i agree with others that would like to see a complete investigation done into this matter.