IN - Couple charged with abandonment of adopted child after legally changing her age, Sept 2019

[Amonet]

I wish they just "relinquished her." Instead they went to court and had her age changed to a legal adult. When they made her a legal adult, they deprived her of an education a child can get but an adult can't. She also lost the protections a child would have vs. adult. She ended up with a couple that appear to be decent people, but this couple has no legal rights to her as far as I can tell, because their legal guardianship petition was denied since N. is supposedly a legal adult. She also could have ended up with anyone at all. Any pedo could have said N. is a legal adult.

It's not just that they could have 'said' that, but that legally this 9 year old child was an adult in the eyes of the law, and any nasty male taking advantage of her age and naivety couldn't have been charged with molesting a child/pedophilia!

She could have driven a car or got married at 9 years old!

Even if she could attend college as an adult, that doesn't replace going to school with children her own age and having age-appropriate lessons.

If it wasn't for having physical disabilities, she would have been expected to go out and get a job!

Her legal protections were removed, and new legal obligations were given to her at an age when she wasn't capable of meeting them.

 

[Meloni88]

Timeline Justice For Natalia Grace

Well done! I didn't see the affidavit on that page though Acusación contra Michael Barnett
You should highlight the prosecution's witness list.

 

[ioethe]

Timeline Justice For Natalia Grace

In the baptism pictures, does it look to anyone else like she has a black eye and some sort of scratch on her nose?

 

[Linda7NJ]

It's not just that they could have 'said' that, but that legally this 9 year old child was an adult in the eyes of the law, and any nasty male taking advantage of her age and naivety couldn't have been charged with molesting a child/pedophilia!

She could have driven a car or got married at 9 years old!

Even if she could attend college as an adult, that doesn't replace going to school with children her own age and having age-appropriate lessons.

If it wasn't for having physical disabilities, she would have been expected to go out and get a job!

Her legal protections were removed, and new legal obligations were given to her at an age when she wasn't capable of meeting them.

These are all excellent points that haven’t even begun being addressed

 

[Linda7NJ]

Well done! I didn't see the affidavit on that page though Acusación contra Michael Barnett
You should highlight the prosecution's witness list.

almost went blind trying to read that on my phone. Lol I had to give up.
Can someone please give the highlights?

 

[Errrr]

Although we've heard that the Barnetts left N alone, we don't know exactly how long for or how well she coped during that time.

One woman has come forward to say that she befriended N during that time and that N was hanging out with a bunch of adults.

We don't know how well N was coping with things like cooking, cleaning, doctors appts or anything like that.

The Barnetts have said that they arranged SSI (SSD?) and food stamps for N and they paid the rent on the apartment that she was in.

Wouldn’t arranging SSI for a child be a federal offence?

 

[Errrr]

I think she’s doing it for the “narcissistic supply”, She gets these mothers (of autistic children) looking up to her, deferring to her, hanging on her every word, treating her like an Expert when she’s absolutely not. Similar to what she experienced making media appearances with her son when he was the guest, then with her book.

Just to be petty here....her 1940s lipstick face reminds me of “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane”!!!

 

[Errrr]

almost went blind trying to read that on my phone. Lol I had to give up.
Can someone please give the highlights?

Fairly standard account. It said the offence was continuous between 2013 and 2016 so within statute of limitations. Witnesses included many detectives, the Mans, various hospitals, as well as arresting officers from prior convictions and a parole officer! Hmmmm

 

[Linda7NJ]

Fairly standard account. It said the offence was continuous between 2013 and 2016 so within statute of limitations. Witnesses included many detectives, the Mans, various hospitals, as well as arresting officers from prior convictions and a parole officer! Hmmmm

A PAROLE OFFICER?
PRIOR CONVICTIONS?

 

[Blondiexoxo]

The comments on the DM article are mostly people who believe Natalia is an adult. I do think she looks a lot older than 16 right now, but in pictures from just a few years ago she is clearly a child!

 

[Meloni88]

almost went blind trying to read that on my phone. Lol I had to give up.
Can someone please give the highlights?

Witnesses: Det. Bays, Patrolman Det. Davenport, Sheriff Bob Goldsmith, Lt. Huber, Natalia Barnett, Any Officers involved in Defendant's arrest or book-in, Arresting Officer(s) from prior convictions, Representatives of Chase Bank, Dr. Demetrius, Representatives from St. Elizabeth Franciscan Health Hospital, Representatives of Helen De Vos Children's Hospital, Heather Long, Antwon Corey Mans, Cynthia Mans, Representatives of Neuro Diagnostic Institute, Probation/Parole Officer(s), APS Agent/or Representative, Representative of Peyton Manning Children's Hospital, DCS Agents/Representatives, Dr Riggs, Representatives from Riley's Children's Hospital, Representatives of St. Vincent's Stress Center, Staff or Treating Physicians or Nurses, Dr. Thomposn, Brandi Watkins, Heather Wilson, Lindsay Yenna.

 

[Errrr]

Timeline Justice For Natalia Grace

Does that mean Michael is a bigamist as well? Or can you marry before your divorce is finalized?
Also, that ex parte wouldn’t have been allowed if NB hadn’t been stuffed in a psychiatric hospital. She was apparently well enough to be removed right after the court ruled her an adult. Just in time to dump her in her own apartment! Good timing there!

 

[ioethe]

Does that mean Michael is a bigamist as well? Or can you marry before your divorce is finalized?
Also, that ex parte wouldn’t have been allowed if NB hadn’t been stuffed in a psychiatric hospital. She was apparently well enough to be removed right after the court ruled her an adult. Just in time to dump her in her own apartment! Good timing there!

The divorce was finalised before Michael’s remarriage, it’s just that the child custody wasn’t sorted out until later - presumably some to do with KB leaving Canada and returning to the States.

 

[squareandrabbet]

USCIS would have been in charge of investigating the adoption and any irregularity before they would have approved any visa and an adoption. USCIS determines eligibility and an investigates as the suitability of the adoptive family. USCIS is very savvy in all of the countries I have been involved in adopting from. We were actually flagged based on the actions of an orphanage and our visa was held until they investigated further. They are on the alert for baby-stealing, irregularities in the process, false documents of children and more. In our case all was clear and we were free to adopt our child. (Today, the US has many safeguards in place and as a member of the Hague Adoption Convention (Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption) things are very clear cut as to country responsibility in the adoption process.) Natalia was adopted from Ukraine which is not a Hague country. However the US was being tough on international adoptions in 2005-2008, I know because I adopted in that time frame.

Even if the Ukraine is not party to the Hague Convention, doesn't that mean that before N was adopted, someone probably had to certify and apostille her Ukrainian birth certificate? It's easier if the country IS party to the Hague Convention, but they still have to go through the same steps plus extra. I've only done documents from U.S.-side, and they came under the category of "other" types of documentation (powers of attorney, etc.), rather than being visa- or immigration-related; but I would find it very unusual that she had no Ukrainian birth certificate in her records and that nobody asked for it (I mean, bio-mom either has it, or asked for it from the gov't and got it). If her birth certificate is legal and hasn't been forged, doesn't that serve as unquestionable proof?

 

[jjenny]

The comments on the DM article are mostly people who believe Natalia is an adult. I do think she looks a lot older than 16 right now, but in pictures from just a few years ago she is clearly a child!

She definitely doesn't look like a 30 year old woman now. Not a wrinkle to be found. Her supposed biomom is 40. I even heard claims that N is 33, which would mean biomom had her at 7. Really? Supposed biomom confirms N. is 16.

 

[jjenny]

Even if the Ukraine is not party to the Hague Convention, doesn't that mean that before N was adopted, someone probably had to certify and apostille her Ukrainian birth certificate? It's easier if the country IS party to the Hague Convention, but they still have to go through the same steps plus extra. I've only done documents from U.S.-side, and they came under the category of "other" types of documentation (powers of attorney, etc.), rather than being visa- or immigration-related; but I would find it very unusual that she had no Ukrainian birth certificate in her records and that nobody asked for it (I mean, bio-mom either has it, or asked for it from the gov't and got it). If her birth certificate is legal and hasn't been forged, doesn't that serve as unquestionable proof?

As far as I can tell her birth certificate exists and shows that she is 16 now. Her supposed biological mother in Ukraine confirms she is 16 now and the birth date is accurate.
"It's still unclear exactly how old the girl is. Based on the Ukrainian birth certificate that the Barnetts were originally given at adoption, she would be about 16 years old. But if the court system's decision to change her birth year was accurate, she would be around 30."
Indiana couple claims adopted daughter from Ukraine really adult with dwarfism, tried to kill family

 

[jjenny]

Wouldn’t arranging SSI for a child be a federal offence?

Disabled children can get SSI, so no.

 

[Meloni88]

Disabled children can get SSI, so no.

Continuing to cash her disability cheques after declaring her an adult and leaving the country is sketchy AF though.

 

[kaen]

Even if the Ukraine is not party to the Hague Convention, doesn't that mean that before N was adopted, someone probably had to certify and apostille her Ukrainian birth certificate? It's easier if the country IS party to the Hague Convention, but they still have to go through the same steps plus extra. I've only done documents from U.S.-side, and they came under the category of "other" types of documentation (powers of attorney, etc.), rather than being visa- or immigration-related; but I would find it very unusual that she had no Ukrainian birth certificate in her records and that nobody asked for it (I mean, bio-mom either has it, or asked for it from the gov't and got it). If her birth certificate is legal and hasn't been forged, doesn't that serve as unquestionable proof?

Sometimes birth certificates are guesstimates with dates estimated in foreign adoptions. I would think that the bc in Ukraine would be accurate but you can not really know if the child was abandoned or delivered to the orphanage via non-official means (from hospital or police station). All adoptees are required to have a physical examination before their paperwork is finalized as they need to prove immunizations and health records/history. In the countries I adopted from the physical was not too detailed but this is a child with a visible medical condition that would require some information to be noted like health of bones, health of internal organs, and teeth. Doctors would question if the age or development was way off but without a specific birth certificate that would be less likely to happen (not saying hers was a non-specific or estimated

 

[jjenny]

Sometimes birth certificates are guesstimates with dates estimated in foreign adoptions. I would think that the bc in Ukraine would be accurate but you can not really know if the child was abandoned or delivered to the orphanage via non-official means (from hospital or police station). All adoptees are required to have a physical examination before their paperwork is finalized as they need to prove immunizations and health records/history. In the countries I adopted from the physical was not too detailed but this is a child with a visible medical condition that would require some information to be noted like health of bones, health of internal organs, and teeth.

As far as I can tell bio mom gave her up because of her physical disabilities, which is not uncommon in the countries of the former Soviet Union. So I would assume the child was born in a hospital then send to an orphanage as an infant. I don't think mother ever took her home because from what she says, she just gave the child up because the child was physically disabled. There really doesn't seem to be much doubt here-she has a birth certificate, bio mom confirms that it's correct.