Pittsburgh PA area? Another Fundie child abuse trial

[Palimpsest]

The much delayed Douglas and Kristen Barbour case is supposed to go to trial on Monday, January 13th -- unless they plead out first. Anyone in the area who could observe or, if they can't actually attend court, keep tabs on local coverage of the case and put pressure on local media to provide good coverage? Thanks in advance.

Case Summary:

Two (6 and 18 month old) children were adopted from Ethiopia in March 2012 by Douglas and Kristen Barbour. Douglas is a Deputy Attorney General in PA, Kristen is a SAHM. Unlike in the Hana Alemu Williams case, the children survived so press coverage might not be very good. We don't know of a direct link to TTUAC, but the Barbours used very similar methods of "training" to the Williams and are described as very religious Evangelical Christians.

The Ethiopian adopted son was brought to the emergency room with hypothermia and lesions on his legs caused by urine burns 9 months later (Jan, 2013). The hypothermia was because he had been placed soaking wet in a cold bathroom for several hours after wetting his pants. This fact was voluntarily disclosed by Douglas Barbour when questioned by hospital staff. It was a regular punishment.

On investigation of the home after the son was admitted to hospital, the adopted daughter was found with massive head trauma resulting in the blinding of one eye and permanent partial paralysis. Both children were malnourished and the boy also reported having been forced to eat in the bathroom if he soiled his pants.

The bio-children were not abused and have since been returned to their parents' care. The father is on suspension from his job as a Deputy Attorney General pending trial.

The trial has been delayed several times, the last time because the defense had difficulty in finding an expert witness to contradict the findings of the hospital staff of shaken baby syndrome in the little girl's case. They are apparently going to claim that the head injuries were caused by "rebleed" of a pre-existing brain aneurism. They are going to have to explain several recent fractures suffered by that baby, however.

http://www.post-gazette.com/neighborhoo ... 1310070091

More newspaper coverage listed here: poundpuplegacy.org/node/51677

[mrs]

I will definitely be keeping the children in my thoughts and prayers.

Are the parents members of a local church?

[notachance]

per an earlier story, they attended "christ bible church" in cranberry twp.

the case has already been rescheduled for march 24

ETA: per request of the defense to get an expert on shaken-baby syndrome

[Palimpsest]

Thanks. They attend(ed?) Christ Baptist Church: cbcofcranberry.org and no-one there is talking.

They adopted through Bethenny Christian Services and used to have a blog but that was comprehensively scrubbed from the net shortly after charges were filed.

Yet another homeschooling Fundie family, which makes it easier for them to isolate the children and conceal abuse. :cry:

[Palimpsest]

per an earlier story, they attended "christ bible church" in cranberry twp.

the case has already been rescheduled for march 24

ETA: per request of the defense to get an expert on shaken-baby syndrome

Wow. There must have been a hearing this morning! That will teach me to post before a last minute check!

Yes, it has been rescheduled but it is because there was a change in prosecutor too. How many months does it need to get an expert witness in SBS?

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/2014/ ... 1401060143

OK, back to your regularly scheduled snark. I'll bump this thread in March.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

Hell is going to be full of fundies.

[Peas n carrots]

Thanks P. It's upsetting that there are so many cases like this. I'm pleased to see more media attention is being given to these type of cases, but there needs to be more attention to this issue. I think the mass media is afraid to show the dark side of adoption .

[Alice_Fraggle]

I hate to do this, but it's Pittsburgh (with an h on the end). It's a pet peeve of mine.

Thank you for posting about this.

[slickcat79]

They have GOT to quit putting this trial off. Seriously, those kids deserve justice sometime before they become adults. The last time I read up on the case, the trial was scheduled for last October and had been delayed again.

Pound Pup Legacy has a good archive of articles, although nothing super-recent.

[Palimpsest]

I hate to do this, but it's Pittsburgh (with an h on the end). It's a pet peeve of mine.

Thank you for posting about this.

Urgh! I know that! :embarrassed:

Darn typo. I should proof thread titles too. So sorry.

[Palimpsest]

They have GOT to quit putting this trial off. Seriously, those kids deserve justice sometime before they become adults. The last time I read up on the case, the trial was scheduled for last October and had been delayed again.

Pound Pup Legacy has a good archive of articles, although nothing super-recent.

I agree and put the Pound Pup Legacy link in the first post. Another good resource with all the news coverage in one place so you don't have to keep clicking different links is ReformTalk.net. Here you go: reformtalk.net/2012/10/06/how-could-you-hall-of-shame-prosecutor-douglas-barbour-and-kristen-barbour/

Trigger warning: both sites do a very good job on collating information on many different cases and make very disturbing reading. Both are also very critical of current adoption practices and may be upsetting for adoptive parents.

Actually, a couple of years is not an exceptionally long time for a case to come to trial. It may be that the defense is finding it very hard to find an expert witness who is willing to say it was a pre-existing condition not Shaken Baby Syndrome. Also, the new prosecutor needs time to get up to speed.

[dianapavelovna]

I agree and put the Pound Pup Legacy link in the first post. Another good resource with all the news coverage in one place so you don't have to keep clicking different links is ReformTalk.net. Here you go: reformtalk.net/2012/10/06/how-could-you-hall-of-shame-prosecutor-douglas-barbour-and-kristen-barbour/

Trigger warning: both sites do a very good job on collating information on many different cases and make very disturbing reading. Both are also very critical of current adoption practices and may be upsetting for adoptive parents.

Actually, a couple of years is not an exceptionally long time for a case to come to trial. It may be that the defense is finding it very hard to find an expert witness who is willing to say it was a pre-existing condition not Shaken Baby Syndrome. Also, the new prosecutor needs time to get up to speed.

I was thinking the same. Probably hard to find a so-called expert who will say that what looks like a textbook case of child abuse is something else.

And even if they do dig up an "expert" who will say the little girl's injuries are due to previous trauma, what's the deal with her brother? Malnourishment and urine burns, those preexisting too? Fuckers.

[notachance]

I hate to do this, but it's Pittsburgh (with an h on the end). It's a pet peeve of mine.

Thank you for posting about this.

thanks, from a yinzer :D

[doggie]

This really shows that fundies don't see adoptions as blessings or even really children. they are goals to please god and make themselves feel good.

[maybeizfundie]

This made me so sad. :( I have friends who know the family and believe it is all some big mistake but given the facts I think that is pretty severe denial. At best, they were overwhelmed by the needs of these two kids and handled it poorly. But if that's the case, they should have sought help long before it got to "just leave the kid soaking wet in the bathroom for hours" stage. I don't know what their motivations were but I don't know how anyone can get around the fact that the kids *were* severely abused. :(

[Palimpsest]

This made me so sad. :( I have friends who know the family and believe it is all some big mistake but given the facts I think that is pretty severe denial. At best, they were overwhelmed by the needs of these two kids and handled it poorly. But if that's the case, they should have sought help long before it got to "just leave the kid soaking wet in the bathroom for hours" stage. I don't know what their motivations were but I don't know how anyone can get around the fact that the kids *were* severely abused. :(

I agree with the bolded, but anything can happen in a trial and juries are unpredictable. It is amazing what people get away with.

I have to rant. (Rant not at all directed at you maybeizfundie even though I quoted you.)

Yeah, I know many of these adopted (both domestic and intercountry) children have issues, some of them very serious, and it is hardly a walk in the park for adoptive parents. I focus more on inter-country adoptions, specifically from Africa. These people who adopt from overseas who don't seem to understand the issues, who refuse to reach out for help, and who already have bio-children and are adopting to save children for Jesus just enrage me. I know it is hard, but I'm tired of then using "we were overwhelmed by the needs" as an excuse to torture, kill or dump these children.

Innocent until proven guilty, fine. I hope there is competent prosecution here and they do get a guilty verdict. I want the Barbours (if guilty) to get the heaviest sentence possible to set an example to other of these "adopters for Jesus." Douglas Barbour is an attorney and an AAG, FFS. He should have known what they were doing was wrong and illegal. Enough!

Phew. Rant over.

For those who did not follow the Hana Alemu trial, here is the FJ thread. It has some excellent posts from Chaotic Life and other useful links. viewtopic.php?f=8&t=20081

And a link to Kathryn Joyce's excellent book. http://www.amazon.com/The-Child-Catcher ... 1586489429

[SoybeanQueen]

If these adoptive parents don't know there are resources available to them, or that regression and all sorts of other difficult issues are likely to appear post-adoption, then they are willfully ignorant and shouldn't get to use the "overwhelmed" excuse.

We've been through a hell of a lot more than a little boy wetting his pants, and have managed to not abuse our children as a result. It's not hard to just, you know, not be a monster.

[katilac]

They brought home an orphan from Ethiopia, and the poor child lost weight under their abusive care.

It's absolutely sickening that the bio kids were returned, because clearly they aren't in danger.

It infuriates me that these "adopt for the glory of god" folks are always so amazed that problems occur, problems that can't be prayed or spanked away. Like SoybeanQueen said, it's willful ignorance.

[maybeizfundie]

I agree. It is wrong.

I was just horribly depressed to hear a new foster mother talk about how the "honeymoon" was over and how the "true" character of the foster children was coming out. No, lady, they are no more sinful and selfish than your own children or any other children. They are broken, hurt, and probably terrified of you and terrified of your rejection at the same time. geez.

I'm glad to see that there are some family-building/family-saving type organizations popping up. I know of two in Ethiopia. One sponsors families so that their very much wanted children don't end up in orphanages due to poverty, and another matches Ethiopian widows who want a family with orphans who need a mama. That removes culture shock from the equation altogether, and with on the ground support right there I think it may be a really great option, better than adoption to the West. I hope that trend continues because unfortunately Americans have left a bad taste in everybody's mouth about adoption because of situations like this. :(

[nana sew dear]

This makes my heart hurt. We have 4 daughters, all adopted internationally, and became involved with other parents who had adopted also. We saw some wonderful and horrible things as far as parenting goes. I makes me wonder what the social workers are basing their home studies on. Are some of these families such good actors? Every time things like this happen it makes it more difficult for other couples/singles to adopt from over seas. I don't pray, but those children have my thoughts and all of my best wishes. :cry:

I scanned this for typos and thought I should mention that I have nothing but respect for social workers and the job that they do. I do think they can be fooled. I don't know what they can do legally to stop a family from adopting if they get a get a negative impression. Are there some social workers who can shed some light on this?

[Megan]

Since they treated their biological children decently, or at least well enough that the biological children have been returned to them, there may not have been any red flags for a social worker to notice.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Why the hell were their biological children returned to them???

Even if they only abused two of their kids, the fact that they abused their kids (or any kids in general) makes them an unfit parent. They are abusive, whats to stop them turning on one of the kids that were returned to them if that kid starts misbehaving or just cause they no longer have the abused kids to take their anger out on or turn into a scapegoat. The fact that they are capable of doing something like that to a child, means they shouldn't be allowed to keep the rest of their kids.

[Palimpsest]

Just a couple of quick responses:

Maybeizfundie: I completely agree with what you say about family building/family supporting endeavors in developing countries being the goal to work towards. This is not to say that I disapprove of all intercountry adoptions - far from it. I do think that those who do adopt from other countries have the responsibility to maximize, respect, and nurture the child's identity with their culture of origin. To go out of their way to learn about the culture, to help their child continue interactions with people of their culture as far as possible, and not to superimpose their own beliefs upon the child too quickly, if that makes sense. It goes a long way towards lessening culture shock and easing the transition which can be very traumatic at the best of times.

Nana Sew Dear: New poster - Welcome! I am so glad your international adoptions are working out. No, you did not bash social workers.

You ask a huge question there. :) Briefly, I am an MSW (macro) but never worked in adoption. I did work in Protective Services. I do know that the work for an adoption social worker is very demanding and social work at the case worker level is still shockingly underpaid. They are generally newer and less experienced. Yes, potential adopters can lie convincingly and not follow through with recommended procedures. They way it is now, SW's hand are tied on how much follo-up they can do. IMO, there should be much improved follow-up and monitoring of adoptions and much better supports and resources for adoptive families. A very unpopular stance because it costs money. However, I believe that "good" adoptive parents would agree to the follow-up and welcome more resources because they have nothing to hide.

Some Adoption agencies are better than others. Bethenny Christian Services has an appalling reputation. They have been kicked out of Ethiopia because of cases like these. Every time something like this happens countries review their policies and make it harder for decent people to adopt.

In the US, adoption policies should be vastly improved at the Federal level as well as the State level. Every single time even a small improvement is proposed the Adoption Lobby seems to strike it down.

That is the short answer, but do ask if you want more of my opinions. :)

[Palimpsest]

Why the hell were their biological children returned to them???

Even if they only abused two of their kids, the fact that they abused their kids (or any kids in general) makes them an unfit parent. They are abusive, whats to stop them turning on one of the kids that were returned to them if that kid starts misbehaving or just cause they no longer have the abused kids to take their anger out on or turn into a scapegoat. The fact that they are capable of doing something like that to a child, means they shouldn't be allowed to keep the rest of their kids.

It is mindboggling, but here are some possibilities off the top of my head:

1. Innocent until proven guilty.

2. Family preservation.

3. Provisions for monitoring of the parents (I believe that they have now moved in with the grandparents) with the non-abused bio-kids.

4. Blaming of the victims - the stress caused these people to abuse the little black problem children, but there is thought to be minimal risk to the bio-kids.

[nana sew dear]

Adopting children who speak a different language, have different customs, and who are no longer babies is a lot of work. They may have memories of their biological families and family members may still be living. The grieving process is very real. It would be difficult for adults in the same situation to deal with. I think it might take years to feel truly comfortable and a part of the family. The family needs to know that they are not alone and that the children's behavior comes from major upheaval and that things will get better.

Still, these are terrified little kids. Adults can and should know when to ask for help. It is so hard to believe that these people have the nerve to call themselves Christians.