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A World for Children
September 5, 2013 - Lawsuit filed by Atty Lori Watson in this case against A World for Children
September 6, 2013
A couple who say their daughter was
repeatedly sexually abused in a foster home in
Goliad before they adopted her filed a lawsuit
Thursday against the foster parents, claiming they
failed to prevent the abuse and didn't report it as
required by law.
The suit, filed in Williamson County, also
names A World for Children, a Round Rock-based
child-placing agency that's licensed by the state
and oversees hundreds of foster homes in Texas. One
is owned by foster parents Mike and Brenda
Whitfield.
The couple allege that the Whitfields and A
World for Children committed negligence and fraud.
The couple and the minor child, referred to
as Mr. and Mrs. Doe and Jane Doe, respectively, are
asking for more than $1 million in damages,
according to the suit in state district court.
The suit claims prior allegations of abuse
in the Whitfield home weren't disclosed to the
adoptive parents, even though they'd specifically
asked to not be presented with children with such
backgrounds.
When child-placing agency staffers and
others were asked by the couple prior to the
adoption if the girl and her two siblings had
experienced any sex abuse allegations, they said no,
the suit states.
“They were seriously misled,” said Lori
Watson, an attorney for the couple. “They took these
three children home and made them a permanent part
of their lives, thinking there were no issues with
sexual abuse. A lot of emotional and mental harm
came to this couple because of the fraud and
misrepresentation.”
A World for Children, which has more than a
dozen branches around the state, including one in
San Antonio, is licensed and regulated by the Texas
Department of Family and Protective Services, but
the state agency isn't named in the suit.
Officials with DFPS declined to comment.
When contacted for comment, the main office
of A World for Children directed all calls to the
agency's attorney in Dallas. She was out until
Monday and couldn't comment.
The Whitfields also couldn't be immediately
reached for comment.
The couple's lawsuit comes amid increased
scrutiny of the foster care system in Texas.
Last week, a federal judge paved the way
for a class-action challenge to Texas' system of
caring for abused and neglected children, even as
the state recently began a long-awaited and vaunted
“foster care redesign.”
The federal lawsuit, filed on behalf of
some 12,000 children in permanent foster care in
Texas, claims the state violates their
constitutional rights by not providing adequate
oversight, specifically because it fails to
hire enough caseworkers to ensure their safety and
well-being.
In the suit filed Thursday, the girl and
her brother had left the foster home and moved into
their adoptive parents' home in September 2011.
Less than a month later, the girl told them
that while she was living in the Whitfield home she
had been sexually abused by an older male foster
child, according to the suit.
It claims the girl at least twice told her
foster parents she had been sexually abused; neither
instance was reported to law enforcement.
The foster parents contacted Child
Protective Services after one of her outcries, and
the agency conducted an investigation, the result of
which isn't mentioned in the lawsuit.
A World for Children reportedly was
contacted about a second outcry, but staffers didn't
contact CPS or police, the suit claims.
“This child was abused numerous times over
a four-year period,” Watson said. “Yet the assailant
remained in the home and the child didn't get the
necessary care she needed. Now she's going to have
to have intensive therapy for a long time to try to
deal with the years of abuse.”
The male foster child later pleaded no
contest to five felony counts related to the sexual
abuse of three children at the foster home. He
received 10 years of probation.
The girl's brother also said he was
sexually abused by the same perpetrator, as well as
by a second boy who lived in the foster home.
Both adopted children also said they had
themselves molested other children while living in
the foster home, the suit claims.
Watson, a Dallas-based lawyer who
focuses on cases involving sex-abuse victims,
said the lawsuit is meant to send a message.
“This is something that needs to be taken
very seriously,” she said. “Two of the children
doing the assaulting had prior sexual issues. The
whole system needs to be looked at more carefully
when you're putting children with histories of
sexual abuse into homes where you have multiple
children of different ages and only limited
supervision coming from two parents, one or both who
might work.”
Only one child, another daughter who had
lived in a separate foster home, remains with the
couple. The brother was placed in another adoptive
home.
The girl named in the suit now lives in a
long-term residential care facility.
Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje
To view the petition in the World for Children lawsuit, click here.
Alfonso Madrid
Alfonso Madrid, Jesuit Priest - CASE SETTLED JULY 11, 2013
August
26th - Press Release - New Victim of Fr. Alfonso
Madrid, Jesuit priest, who was at:San Felipe in Albuquerque 1961-1966
Our Lady of Guadalupe in San Antonio 1966-1970
Sacred Heart in El Paso 1970- 1982
August 24, 2013 - Another alleged sexual abuse victim linked to a former El Paso priest has filed suit, said Lori Watson, a lawyer in Dallas.
"Another victim came forward who was also sexually abused by (the Rev.) Alfonso Madrid," Watson said in a statement. "This plaintiff was 8 years old when he was sexually abused by Madrid at Sacred Heart Church in the El Paso (Catholic) Diocese in 1974-1975." (source El Paso Times)
MoreTestimonials
regain both my self confidence and my courage to face the past and come forward to make those responsible answer for their crimes. When I was working with Lori she also did a wonderful job of keeping the process of my settlement moving forward and with as little stress as possible on me. I truly appreciate everything Lori Watson has done for both myself and the many others that she has helped. I would highly recommend Lori Watson to anyone who needs someone on their side."
I never told a soul, because of the shame I felt and the embarrassment that it would cause my family. The damage I was doing to my wife and children was considerable and I could not bring myself to explain to them the abuse I suffered at the hands of the "men of God".
When I finally met Ms. Watson I knew I could trust her. She was a God send. I explained my abuse to her and she understood and expressed that he believed me. With the patience of a true saint, she said everything was going to start to be O.K. I also had the courage to confide in my wife of more than twenty years, and she finally understood my paranoia of the Catholic church. Ms. Watson and her team soon had me on the road to recovery. I thank God that Ms. Watson was on my side. I now have peace in me. I cannot put my name on this because of my public persona, but if you with to start the healing process, please consider Lori Watson and her team. They truly are angels and they are on our side."