IN - Couple charged with abandonment of adopted child after legally changing her age, Sept 2019 #2 *not guilty*

[Laughing]

Indiana taxpayers, you might try asking here how an Indiana court can act against an unrepresented child:

Home

www.in.gov

Office of the State's Courts Administrator

or here:

Home

www.in.gov

Office of the Attorney General

We know this happened to ONE Indiana child. One is too many imho. How many others are there?

if the squeaky wheel gets the grease -- and the wronged child is under a gag order -- who will be her voice?

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[jjenny]

Barnetts went to court and had her age changed by increasing it by 14 years using arguments like- she wasn't growing. So people stop growing at 18 which would then make her 18 when Barnetts adopted her. Never mind she is a dwarf so normal growing patterns don't apply to her. Her interests were not represented in that court.
Once the judge changed her age by making her 14 years older, the rest of the judges say what has been done can not be undone under any circumstances.
Again, my mind boggles by this case.

 

[jjenny]

As far as I am concerned neighbors complaining about her "disturbing" behavior when she was left to survive in the apartment should STFU. She was a little girl living on her own, and they are complaining she didn't smell good and didn't take care of herself? STFU.

 

[Laughing]

As far as I am concerned neighbors complaining about her "disturbing" behavior when she was left to survive in the apartment should STFU. She was a little girl living on her own, and they are complaining she didn't smell good and didn't take care of herself? STFU.

Could she even reach the shower controls? Climb into the bathtub?

Thank God for the family who took her in & shelters her.

Michael Barnett, they are all still alive. So what exactly put your then-wife & children at such risk???

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[jjenny]

Could she even reach the shower controls? Climb into the bathtub?

Thank God for the family who took her in & shelters her.

Michael Barnett, they are all still alive. So what exactly put your then-wife & children at such risk???

jmho ymmv lrr

A lot of children, when left to their own devices, might not shower even if they are able to. She clearly had no clue how to take care of herself, being a child left alone in the apartment.

 

[Pesto919]

This is so bizarre and I've not been able to get through the documentary because Michael Barnett is a loon..but I'm trying to understand the logic of abandoning her in an apartment. Obviously the adoption wasn't working; couldn't they gotten family services or some agency to find her something more suitable? I guess I need to finish watching.

 

[Laughing]

This is so bizarre and I've not been able to get through the documentary because Michael Barnett is a loon..but I'm trying to understand the logic of abandoning her in an apartment. Obviously the adoption wasn't working; couldn't they gotten family services or some agency to find her something more suitable? I guess I need to finish watching.

iirc her first US placement didn't work out
a second family with a child with this form of dwarfism opened their home to her & wanted to adopt her, Boston Children's examined the child & provided a lengthy list of needed services into adulthood re: this dwarfism
Barnetts somehow were able to adopt her, apparently ignoring the information from Boston Children's and later Riley Children's
Barnetts pull legal fast one in Marion County & successfully abandon her in Tippecanoe County

Bizarre, indeed

 

[jjenny]

She had a lot of physical challenges due to her dwarfism and potentially behavioral challenges since she was raised in an orphanage since being a newborn. She needed a lot of medical treatment which would require a lot of commitment. So I presume adopting a special needs child didn't turned out all rosy as they imagined. It would also probably be difficult to find another adoptive family for her, and they would also have to admit their own failures. When Barnetts managed to legally change her age, she wasn't considered a child anymore so they didn't have to raise her. They could also blame her for everything since they were claiming adoption was a fraud.

 

[squareandrabbet]

This is so bizarre and I've not been able to get through the documentary because Michael Barnett is a loon..but I'm trying to understand the logic of abandoning her in an apartment. Obviously the adoption wasn't working; couldn't they gotten family services or some agency to find her something more suitable? I guess I need to finish watching.

One extenuating circumstance I believe (IMO), had to do with their underaged genius biological son Jake, who wanted to go study in Canada.

it’s eminently possible that getting Natalia across the border was simply too much agita; and they didn’t try too hard to surmount it, instead making up this elaborate faradiddle sourced from ”The Orphan” and similar Hollywood fodder, in order to get the result they desired.

Cases involving Kristine Barnett, Michael Barnett filled with twists and turns

A 2012 court order changed Natalia Grace Barnett from an 8-year-old girl to a 22-year-old woman and shielded her adoptive parents from legal scrutiny.

www.jconline.com

 

[jjenny]

So what we have is a person with proof like birth certificate and adoption documents showing she was born in 2003. Her birth mother was verified by DNA testing. And yet a US court ruled her to be 14 years older, using amazing display of logic-she wasn't growing so she had to be an adult and not a child-despite the fact that she has severe dwarfism. And there appears to be no way to overturn that decision. As a result of that decision her adoptive parents were able to leave her alone in the apartment as a young child and escape CPS investigations and so on. She wasn't able to even go to school because she became an adult overnight. Her interests were not represented during the court "re-aging" process. At the trial of her adoptive father, prosecution was not able to present any evidence of her actual age, because the court re-aged her, so she legally was that age now. Despite having birth certificate showing she was born in 2003. So the father of course was not convicted.
Why is a court allowed to do this to a child, and why is there no way to fix that?

 

[jjenny]

"She continued, “If that is true and that we did not receive this information, that appears to be a major miscarriage of justice. We felt that Michael Barnett really got away with abandoning and neglecting his child. And none of us. “I felt good about it.”"

Jury in neglect of orphan Natalia Grace calls verdict 'huge miscarriage of justice' - USTimesPost

According to a legal expert interviewed for ID's documentary "The Curious Case of Natalia Grace," adoptive father Michael Barnett "dodged a bullet" by

ustimespost.com

 

[Linda7NJ]

This is so bizarre and I've not been able to get through the documentary because Michael Barnett is a loon..but I'm trying to understand the logic of abandoning her in an apartment. Obviously the adoption wasn't working; couldn't they gotten family services or some agency to find her something more suitable? I guess I need to finish watching.

Because Mrs Barnett’s ego wouldn’t allow it. She was the expert with the genius son and foundation that worked with autistic kids.

 

[Linda7NJ]

This is so bizarre and I've not been able to get through the documentary because Michael Barnett is a loon..but I'm trying to understand the logic of abandoning her in an apartment. Obviously the adoption wasn't working; couldn't they gotten family services or some agency to find her something more suitable? I guess I need to finish watching.

Because Mrs Barnett’s ego wouldn’t allow it. She was the expert with the genius son and foundation that worked with autistic kids.

 

[Linda7NJ]

I’m stunned the case against the Christine didn’t move forward.
I’m SICKENED & OUTRAGED she tried to PIMP Natalia out.

 

[Dawn Day]

Because Mrs Barnett’s ego wouldn’t allow it. She was the expert with the genius son and foundation that worked with autistic kids.

It wasn’t merely her ego. It was the fact that “returning” an adopted special needs child would run counter to her persona as a person who values special needs children. Knowledge of returning the child would have become public knowledge and THAT would have effected the book deal and movie deal she had in the works for her fictional “true” story The Spark. It was all about fame and fortune.

 

[Dawn Day]

Because Mrs Barnett’s ego wouldn’t allow it. She was the expert with the genius son and foundation that worked with autistic kids.

It wasn’t merely her ego. It was the fact that “returning” an adopted special needs child would run counter to her persona as a person who values special needs children. Knowledge of returning the child would have become public knowledge and THAT would have effected the book deal and movie deal she had in the works for her fictional “true” story The Spark. It was all about fame and fortune.

 

[AngTxGal]

Barnetts went to court and had her age changed by increasing it by 14 years using arguments like- she wasn't growing. So people stop growing at 18 which would then make her 18 when Barnetts adopted her. Never mind she is a dwarf so normal growing patterns don't apply to her. Her interests were not represented in that court.
Once the judge changed her age by making her 14 years older, the rest of the judges say what has been done can not be undone under any circumstances.
Again, my mind boggles by this case.

It may be that what the first judge did cannot be undone without her coming forward on her own behalf showing documentation.
What needs to be done is the realization that the first judge got it wrong. And then if that is the case- the Barnetts who left her in an apartment alone as a minor when they moved to Canada all the sudden becomes a crime.

She may find an attorney that is willing to fight for her, I cannot imagine that she does not have a case.

JMO

 

[jjenny]

There were attempts made to over turn the re-aging but nothing worked.

"The Journal & Courier tracked down two attorneys who attempted to reverse Michael and Kristine Barnett's re-aging of Natalia in a Marion County court. The June 2012 hearing that changed Natalia's birth year was done without any legal counsel to represent Natalia's rights and interests. Speaking about the June 2012 hearing in this Sept. 26, 2019, J&C story, Lafayette attorney Michael Tromel said, "The Barnetts basically filed an ex parte petition, and this kid was not represented.""

J&C COVERAGE: Natalia, the Ukrainian orphan, and the Barnetts' fight to clear their names

The Journal & Courier documented the allegations and prosecution of Kristine Barnett and Michael Barnett since the charges were filed Sept. 11, 2019.

www.jconline.com

 

[jjenny]

Their genius bio son ended up living in his dad's basement.

"Jacob, once on track to be a physicist, now lives in his dad’s basement and says he has a poor relationship with his mother. During an interview for the documentary, he refused to speak on anything that might get his mother in trouble. But Jacob forgot to turn off his mic."

New details in Barnett documentary

Natalia Barnett may have been 22 when her adopted parents left her alone in an apartment in 2012. Or she might have been 16, according to her dad. Or 9,

www.purdueexponent.org

 

[jjenny]

Here is an article claiming that adoptive mom tried to set Natalia up on a date with an adult male. By the way children who act inappropriate sexually (as has been alleged, who knows if any of it is true) could be acting out because they have been abused.
But of course the judge re-aged her so its all good. Again, how is court allowed to do that to a child?

"Maybe he saw on the message where Kristine tried to set me up with [Natalia]," Freddie said. "But I didn't take the bait. No reply from me. I just was like, 'Eugh. It gave me shivers to think that anybody would even remotely do that. I don't go there and I think people who do go there should have their balls chopped off. It's just really disgusting."

Orphan Natalia Grace's Adoptive Mother Allegedly Coached Her About Age, Tried to Set Her Up with Adult

Michael Barnett claims his wife Kristine coached Natalia what to say about her age after she was "re-aged" to an adult -- plus, eldest son Jacob details how his mother allegedly forced him into helping abuse Natalia, and allegations Kristine tried to set Natalia up with an adult little person.

toofab.com