GUILTY AZ - Christopher Carlson for child abuse, Grand Canyon NP, 2011

[Missizzy]

The custody battle has begun:

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/regio...-for-custody-in-grand-canyon-child-abuse-case

Parents fight for custody in Grand Canyon child abuse case


"....On Wednesday, the boys’ parents, KB and TD, faced off in court fighting for custody of the children. According to KB, the boys’ mother had custody of the kids and he had visitation rights. Now, following the alleged abuse, KB wants custody. The hearing involving the matter lasted about an hour and a judge decided to send the children back home to Indiana in the care of CPS and allow a judge in Indiana to decide who gets custody.

KB told ABC15 the boys will be back in Indiana in two weeks. “[CPS is] going to do home visits on each side and then they’ll go from there,” said KB outside the courthouse...."

and

"....As for Carlson, federal investigators say he is a flight risk. According to court paperwork, Carlson had been on six or seven international trips with the children over the past thirteen months and took them to pot farms in at least two different countries. The documents show Carlson made $800 a month and has no bank account or credit cards...."

More at link


What was this man doing????


ETA: There's a video about this case at this link. I was very surprised to see the children shown and named. Lovely little boys. There are interviews with the father and his grandmother about their attempts to gain custody. There's also a comment about five children being in the mother's home. Not sure if these were just visiting children, foster children, day-care children or other children of hers we didn't know about.

 

[Missizzy]

In looking at photos of the boys, I don't see overweight or obese children, at all. I see normally developing little boys. It's frightening to think that each child lost between 20-30 lbs over their 6 week ordeal.

There are a number of studies which show that sibling connections are even more important than bonding with parents--especially in dysfunctional settings. My hope is that connection will be a touchstone for each one of these boys. They went through the abuse and maltreatment together and hopefully, they will heal together.

 

[Missizzy]

Normal weights for male children, dependent on body structure:

http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set1clinical/cj41l021.pdf

8 year old male child: 40-70 lbs.

9 year old male child: 42-85 lbs.

12 year old male child: 60-125 lbs.


A 20-30 lb. loss could have been more than half the child's weight!!

 

[MorenoI]

The documents show Carlson made $800 a month and has no bank account or credit cards.



Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/regio...n-grand-canyon-child-abuse-case#ixzz1XODqRcMo


This part has me concerned. Why would he need to take children on a trip that I am sure was expensive to begin with when $800.00 a month is all he makes??? Something is missing, I just know it! JMO

 

[Evan's Mom]

The documents show Carlson made $800 a month and has no bank account or credit cards.



Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/regio...n-grand-canyon-child-abuse-case#ixzz1XODqRcMo


This part has me concerned. Why would he need to take children on a trip that I am sure was expensive to begin with when $800.00 a month is all he makes??? Something is missing, I just know it! JMO

Maybe he was using the kids as a cover while checking out different methods of cultivating weed or as a cover for being a mule?

 

[CatFancier]

The documents show Carlson made $800 a month and has no bank account or credit cards.



Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/regio...n-grand-canyon-child-abuse-case#ixzz1XODqRcMo


This part has me concerned. Why would he need to take children on a trip that I am sure was expensive to begin with when $800.00 a month is all he makes??? Something is missing, I just know it! JMO

I'm thinking they were his cover...

 

[justbeachy]

My concern (one of many) is that the boys were used as "payment" in exchange for someone else funding the trips. Why would he take the kids unless he needed them for some reason? Surely it would have been a lot faster and easier to visit those pot farms alone.

It should be fairly easy to follow the money. Who paid for all these international flights? Were they commercial or private flights? Where did they stay? I'm afraid we've only heard the tip of the iceberg about what those boys endured. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Missizzy]

justbeachy--My thoughts exactly. I'm not quite sure why photos of the children were released (was that really necessary?) but they are beautiful children. I'm also very afraid that they were used for more than "cover", that they were used as some sort of bargaining chip in this guy's drug deals.

I'm still confounded by the trips to South America. Why? Unless he's some big time Indiana drug pin, I don't get it. I'm starting to doubt that it's pot we're talking about. There's also got to be a reason that LE doesn't want his photo shown. They're all still using the 2006 mug shot.

How I hope and pray that DHS does a very thorough investigation into each possible placement for these boys. They deserve to just be little boys!!

 

[Missizzy]

I still can't figure out why the media is using an old mug shot of this man. So, child abuse charges but no charges that I see from his out of the country trips.

http://news.yahoo.com/man-accused-forcing-grand-canyon-hikes-court-174406093.html

Man accused of forcing Grand Canyon hikes in court
September 28, 2011

"An Indiana man has pleaded not guilty to charges that he forced his young grandsons on brutal hikes in triple-digit heat at the Grand Canyon. Christopher Carlson, of Indianapolis, entered pleas Wednesday in Phoenix on six counts of child abuse that each carries a maximum of life in prison if convicted...."

and

"...Prosecutors allege that the 45-year-old deprived his three grandsons of food and water during two separate hikes in August. The boys — ages 12, 9 and 8 — told investigators that they had been hit, pushed, choked, pinched and squeezed during the trips from the South Rim, and were told to lie to park rangers...."

More at link

 

[Hamsterdance]

Just adding a recent article I found today about this case:

Boy testifies at trial of grandfather accused of abusing grandsons during Grand Canyon hikes

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/a...sing-grandsons-during-grand-canyon-hikes?bn=1

 

[Missizzy]

I'm really glad to see this update as this case really bugged me. We still don't know why Carlson took these boys to several foreign countries...or how he afforded that. Very curious. I hope info on that issue comes out at trial.

I still question why they are using a mugshot from 2006 as the photo for this horribly cruel man.

 

[Missizzy]

Guilty!!

http://news.yahoo.com/grandfather-convicted-child-abuse-over-grand-canyon-hike-025046518.html

Grandfather convicted of child abuse over Grand Canyon hike
February 29. 2012

"An Indiana man who forced his three young grandsons to take brutal marches through the Grand Canyon during scorching summer heat was convicted of child abuse in federal court on Wednesday, authorities said. Officials at the U.S. District Court in Phoenix said Christopher Alan Carlson, 45, was convicted on three of six felony child abuse charges in connection with one of two tortuous hikes he took last August with the boys, then ages 8, 9 and 12 years old...."

and

"...The jury deliberated for less than a day before finding Carlson guilty of criminally negligent child abuse that was likely to produce death or serious bodily injury. Prosecutors said Carlson could face life in prison when sentenced on June 14...."

More at link

 

[LinasK]

Another grandmonster, just like the one who made her 9-year-old granddaughter run to death! What is it with these grandparents???:furious:

 

[Rayemonde]

June 2012 - sentenced to 28 months.

A grandfather who was convicted with child abuse after forcing his three grandsons on a hike through the Grand Canyon has been sentenced to 27 months in prison, the minimum punishment possible...


During the trial, Micah testified that the worst part of the trip was throwing up and excruciating pain from the blisters on the bottom of his feet.

The blisters on the bottom of Micah's feet were so bad by the end of the second hike that they had turned into ulcers. He had to undergo treatment that is usually used for burn victims, prosecutors said...

On Wednesday, Carlson's daughter, Tara Danaher, the boys' mother, said on her father's behalf, "My father disciplined my children. In this particular case, yes, I believe he disciplined them, but I don't think he abused them."...

Danaher, who is only allowed to see her children for seven supervised hours a week, said the Indiana Department of Child Services is to blame for needlessly keeping her from her children.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/grandpa-christopher-carlson-27-months-jail-grand-canyon/story?id=16570399

 

[Rayemonde]

U.S. District Judge Frederick Martone said the fact that Carlson obviously cares very much for his grandchildren and that he has struggled with attention-deficit disorder and hyperactivity his whole life helped him conclude that Carlson deserved the lighter sentence. He could have been ordered imprisoned for up to 17 years...

The boys have said that they love their grandfather and loved spending last summer traveling to various countries with him. But the boys also testified that Carlson kicked or hit them if they were too slow on a 15-mile hike on Aug. 15 and a 19-mile hike on Aug. 28.

The oldest boy told jurors that he secretly asked a hiker to call 911 toward the end of the Aug. 28 hike after he began throwing up, fell down because of cramping and experienced changes to his vision.

“I needed medical attention and I was hurting and he was hitting and pushing me and calling me fat,” said the boy...

A ranger with binoculars spotted the group during the Aug. 28 hike, the same day a man died on another trail from heat exposure. The ranger reported seeing Carlson shoving the oldest boy and whipping him with a rolled-up T-shirt.

Rangers fed the boys and gave them water after one showed symptoms of heat stroke and the other two had signs of heat exhaustion and dehydration.

http://m.nydailynews.com/news/crime...-canyon-sentenced-27-months-article-1.1096349

 

[Rayemonde]

July 2013:

A federal appeals court has upheld the abuse convictions of an Indianapolis man who forced his grandsons to take a grueling hike in the Grand Canyon.

http://www.abc15.com/news/region-no...-convictions-upheld-in-grand-canyon-hike-case

 

[Rayemonde]

December 2013:

Carlson filed a petition for review with the nation’s highest court in late November. The U.S. government has waived its right to respond.

http://www.indystar.com/story/news/...iew-of-grand-canyon-child-abuse-case/3988563/

 

[pappa rob]

So the mom says the grandpa only disciplined the children. Then she whines that CPS is needlessly keeping her children from her, what is she using for brains?

 

[los2188]

Police: Man who had 3 grandsons hike Grand Canyon killed

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) —

An Indianapolis man convicted of child abuse in 2012 for forcing three grandsons to hike the Grand Canyon has been shot to death, police said.

Christopher Carlson, 50, was found shot multiple times Friday evening in an alley on the city's north side, the Indianapolis Metropolitan police Department said in a news release. Detectives did not immediately have any suspects in the slaying.

http://news.yahoo.com/police-man-had-3-grandsons-hike-grand-canyon-183218314.html