Instead, they wanted us to do it through the system. Even once the couple began the lengthy process of adopting through DHS, though, he said the agency fought us the whole way. This couple, the girls fourth set of parents in two and a half years, has now legally adopted them. Startled by the Harris case, Arkansas could be next. By Chris Spargo and Kieran Corcoran For Dailymail.com, Published: 18:20 EST, 6 March 2015 | Updated: 09:39 EST, 7 March 2015. But typically, those cases should involve family services officials and a judge who makes the final decision about custody of the child, Lestino said. Its evil, he told the Times. He said they suffered from reactive attachment disorder, a condition sometimes occurring among children with unstable backgrounds that results in severe emotional and social problems. Play it now! Im a Christian, and I have these beliefs, but this was completely beyond anything Ive ever seen or heard about., Goldsborough said the reason the family removed Marys toys was because a demon told [Mary] not to share. They were thrown in with a lot of transient people in their lives before us. Justin Harris. Justin Harris in Nevada. It is for this reason that rehoming is such a scary practice according to Amy Webb, a spokesperson for theDepartment of Human Services. As part of his attempt to justify his actions, Harris has claimed the young girls, and their eight-year-old sister whom he also took in but did not formally adopt, were threatening to kill his family. "We met a bunch of different families, and we found the parents we absolutely loved," Justin, who came out as gay to his family before his junior . CC image courtesy of Flickr, Ivailo Djilianov.. HA note: The following is reprinted with permission from Libby Anne's blog Love Joy Feminism.It was originally published on Patheos on March 17, 2015. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, our readers value great journalism. Harris was sentenced to 12 years in all on those three charges: Ten years for one count of attempt to commit sexual exploitation of a child, and one year each for two counts of dissemination of. Justin Harris and his wife have three biological sons and were adopting for the first time with the two girls. But the Harrises were hell-bent on having it happen. Due to the sensitivity of our daughters story, and out of respect for them, we are asking the public for privacy during this time., (Jeannette was eventually adopted by a therapeutic foster family and is said to be doing well. Harris later suggested in the KARK interview that the agency was threatening him because of his political beliefs. The girls had been taken into DHS custody in early 2011 after suffering through a staggering sequence of chaos and abuse. But the girls foster parents said they didnt experience those kinds of issues with the girls. This story will refer to the three girls taken in by the Harrises by pseudonyms: We will call the oldest sister Jeannette, the middle sister Mary and the youngest sister Annie. 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, everyones recommendation was for these kids to not go to this home. Like the Harts, we also have two small dogs and the girls have only been gentle towards them. The Times reported that Cecile Blucker, the head of DHS' Division of Children and Family Services, "exerted pressure on the Washington County DHS office on behalf of Justin Harris to . Goldsborough said she would watch Mary on a monitor linked to a camera in her room, but usually only entered the room to provide food or water. Harris publicly announced on social media that the adoption had been finalized on March 6, 2013. Justin Harris also reached out to the Hart family who was fostering the two youngest sisters at the time. But this kid was so sexualized, Id never seen anything like it, the therapeutic foster mother said. She said she was originally introduced to the Harrises by a former friend. Jan Wallis is an adoption specialist at the Arkansas Department of Health Services (DHS). The reason: The Harrises believed the girls were possessed by demons and could communicate telepathically, Goldsborough said. But around March 2013, he and his wife formally adopted the girls two younger sisters, according to the Arkansas Times. They were not allowed to be around each other because of the Harrises belief in demonic possession and telepathy, she said. Those depictions, Ostrov says, would be a tremendous lure.. Years ago, no states had explicitprohibitions against rehoming. Gradually, the foster mother said, this troubled girls behavior began to change. They are precious, precious, amazing girls, and we are so blessed to have them.'. For reasons similar to their own, the Harts said DHS therapists, case workers, adoption specialists and other former foster parents also warned that this would not be the right fit. They played with my adopted son in my home.. We also are prohibited from clarifying any inaccurate information.. Rancher, 73, is charged with murder on his Arizona land after shooting dead Mexican, 48, who had history of illegal crossings into US and multiple deportations: Judge refuses to reduce $1M bail despite plea his wife is alone, Getting his Minnie's worth! We tried to sort of put all our cards on the table and say why this was a bad idea, Cheryl Hart said. Our friends, our neighbors, our church we can get as many character witnesses as you want for those girls, he said. Justin Harris, a Republican who sits in the state's House of Representatives, legally adopted the two girls in March 2013 - but handed them over after just six months to a man who would go on to rape the eldest. The older one was very protective of the younger one.. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Find Justin Harris's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading people search directory for contact information and public records. We see this happening in orphanages and kids moved into foster care at a young age. So in early 2011. when a mother of three reached out to the devout couple about adopting her three young daughters who were about to be permanently taken away by DHS, the family decided they wanted to make these siblings members of their family. They are our daughters. On. Boy who killed his father's pregnant fiancee when he was 11 Arkansas Democratic Party Chair Vince Insalaco's Statement Regarding Republican Rep. 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Justin Harris releases statement about 'rehoming' d - KATV - Breaking News, Weather and Razorback Sports, A child left unprotected | Cover Stories | Arkansas news, politics, opinion, restaurants, music, movies and art, 'Re-homed' by legislator, girl, 6, sexually assaulted. Arkansas State Rep Justin Harris and his wife Marsha adopted two girls in 2013, but eventually gave them up when the elder child became violent and threatening View gallery The Harris family. Not surprisingly, Harris chose to stay quiet about his role in placing the victim in the Francis home until a reporter from the Arkansas Times connected the dots. See Photos. I care what my wife thinks about me, and I care what my three sons think about me.'. Thats part of the process you want. Strong Sales, Networking, and Client Development skills with a Bachelor of Business Administration - BBA focused in Business Administration and Management, General from Lees-McRae College. So, sure, higher-ups will get into discussions about what is best and what is not., However, a source familiar with the workings of state-level DHS informed the Times that Blucker supposedly remarked in 2012 that Harris threatened to hold up the budget for the division if he didnt get to adopt those girls.. The incident happened while his wife was away for two weeks on a trip to Pennsylvania. The teen claimed she would watch the girls for a few hours every day after school for several months -- a length of time disputed by the Harrises. There are times when families are unable to cope with the challenges of caring for children adopted through the foster system. By Benjamin Hardy . Feeling they had run out of options, the Harrises decided to re-home their children -- a legal loophole that allows adoptive parents to hand over kids to another willing family -- to Eric and Stacey Francis, with the intention that the Francises would eventually adopt them. Goldsborough also alleged the family would keep the middle child isolated in her bedroom for long periods of time and blast Christian music at her doorway to help keep away demons. This is hypocrisy at its highest level. ), Craig Hart also raised the issue of faith when addressing Justin Harris comments about the girls. It was the only chance I had to keep my girls together. He also mentioned Cecile Bluckers name, but this time not in a congenial context. Wallis warned Harris there was a possibility that DHS could charge them with abandonment if they took such action. The Harrises are devout Southern Baptists. West Fork, Arkansas, is represented in state government by Republican Rep. Justin Harris. In most cases, custody of an adopted child can be transferred simply by both sets of parents signing a document, and child protective services will only step in if they suspect the child is not being properly treated, which can be near impossible for them to judge at times. To both Young and the Harrises, it must have seemed like providence. Everyone testifying before the judge had stipulations, like To be followed up, To continue their therapy at Childrens House, but nobody would say, We really dont think this is a good idea. The Harts believe Bluckers influence made the adoption happen. Describing the child's fits of rage, Marsha Harris told 20/20, "It never stopped. And throughout their childhood,police had documented sexual abuse in their home,which experts say can be a strong signal for potential predators. The girls' new adopted mother, who asked not to be named, told 20/20, "I want people to know who they really are, 'cause who they really are is fun and sweet and sensitive and strong. Sex crimes: Eric Francis (above) is now serving 40 years in prison for rape, Blame game: In a press conference on Friday Rep. Harris blamed what happened on theArkansas Department of Human Services. For the most part, Harris peers in the legislature are keeping quiet about the controversy, but the public at large is paying attention to the story. "There was a group coming in from Alabama that was supposed to pray over the children and get the demons out as an exorcism," according to Goldsborough. When it was just me and her one night, I took her on a walk down the street to hang out and took her to the playground., When asked whether either of the girls displayed any signs of violence, Goldsborough said, Yeah theyd throw a fit sometimes if I made them eat their broccoli. Justin R Harris View Details Baton Rouge Presumed owner of the real estate located at 9476 Syble Dr, Baton Rouge Associated persons: Samuel L Harris, Cheryl Johnson, Cheryl Johnson-scott, Cheryl Johnsonscott, Florita W Lee (225) 201-9252 View Details Justin Harris View Details Balt 2133 E Chase St, Balt Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. They felt like we had an ulterior motive to wanting these children in the first place.. See Photos. The girls had regular counseling at Childrens House in Springdale, a center specializing in mental health treatment for young victims of abuse. The child abuse hotline soon thereafter received a call from an individual concerned for the girls safety, and investigators found the children in the care of a woman in a house with multiple adults who tested positive for meth; one man at the home had been sexually abusing both Jeannette and Mary, and he is now serving a 120-year sentence. He said DHS threat to charge him with abandonment could have cost him custody of his three biological sons (and, though he did not say so, could have cost him his business as well, Growing Gods Kingdom preschool). She stated that Francis had raped her genital area to help her go to sleep, a claim he did not deny. He saw it as, Im with God. 10g EAAs. Eric Francis was later convicted of sexually abusing the 6-year-old and other girls and was given a 40-year prison sentence. Tweet. She lashed out at her brothers, threatened to kill people with knives and even crushed the family guinea pig to death. Friday afternoon, Rep. Justin Harris and his wife Marsha held a press conference at the state Capitol to address the revelations in this week's Arkansas Times cover story about their failed adoption, which ended in the "rehoming" of two girls in a household where one of them was sexually abused.As Max Brantley wrote yesterday, it was an emotional statement. Justin Harris Assistant General Manager at Lenox Hotel & Suites Buffalo-Niagara Falls Area Community Services Foundation of Buffalo Inc. d.b.a. The Arkansas Timesrevealed the link between Harris and the rape victim in an expos this week, after learning that he had adopted the girls from prosecutor documents used in Francis' trial. In the KARK interview, Justin Harris noted that he and his future wife met at Childrens House. Yetothers involved in the case say that the Harrises knew the girls had mental and emotional challenges due to past trauma butinsisted on adopting themanyway, the Arkansas Times reported. At some point before he was arrested and after his firing, Francis and his wife gave the two girls away to another family, where they are now living. According to the Arkansas Times, the girls were adopted through the Arkansas Department of Human Services. He said one of the girls the implication was the middle sister had to be medicated to stop hurting her sister, and that he was advised by therapists to treat her RAD by removing toys and other belongings from her room. One of the many people who contacted the Times after the original story broke was a therapist who works with children with reactive attachment disorder and who is familiar with DHS. It was also this agency which Harris required to approve his controversial adoptions. This practice is legal in almost every single state in the country, even though it is a form of human trafficking. In a good disclosure meeting, all the childs current and potential behaviors are discussed in depth and there is a clear road map of what it will take to make this adoption successful. The rehoming of Mary and Annie officially came to the attention of DHS on March 28, 2014, thanks to an anonymous call to the child abuse hotline operated by State Police. Harris said the girls suffered from reactive attachment disorder, which led them to have social and emotional problems and become violent, according to the Times. When asked if Blucker had prior knowledge of the rehoming, Webb, the DHS spokesperson, said the agency could not comment due to the confidentiality of adoption cases. Wallis left DHS in fall 2012. The middle girl came maybe two months later she had a potential adoptive family that for some reason changed their minds very suddenly and said she had to be out right away, so we took her, too.. and Mrs. Harris have suffered a severe injustice', Christian school: Pictured is Growing God's Kingdom Preschool, in which Rep. Harris owns, employed Francis for three months, It was also reported in the story that the Harris family 'continued to accept adoption subsidy money even after giving the children away.'. After several months with the eldest girl, who was 6 at the time of the trial period, the Harrises didnot finalizeher adoption due to her behavioral issues, Harris said at a news conference last week. But things quickly took a turn for the worse as the middle child, also diagnosed with RAD, began to act out despite regular therapy sessions, the Harrises said. Harris face was getting all red, Cheryl Hart added. 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