Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

Cops Find 9 Adopted Kids Handcuffed, Starved
Mother Held After Children Are Discovered Inside Woman's Lavish Florida Home
Nine adults and teenagers were held captive, abused and starved by their adoptive Florida mother for as long as 15 years, authorities tell ABC News.

Judith Leekin, 62, allegedly duped four different New York City adoption agencies into allowing her to adopt 11 children, all of whom authorities believe she later abused. Leekin is also thought to have kept all of the state-issued funds intended for the children, spending it on her own personal expenses.
(snip) 
Rest of Story:  http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3431945&page=1

This makes me physically sick. How can a human be so cruel?

It is time they investigate adopted parents, long overdue. So much of this happens and no one knows.

These poor children will be physically and mentally scared for life and all she will get is jail time.

I hate her..Do to her what she has done to this children.

OS

If you go to the front page story on this, then you can see that she funded a beautiful house in FL with the money. (there is a picture of the house in one of the links).. police stated it had the best landscapping and they were sure it was a false call.

WTH?

Cops: Woman Collected $2M in Welfare as Adopted Children Starved

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,291673,00.html

yea, I saw that big ole house, that witch is not human. children never have been to a dr. or dentist, starving this kids and what the hell for... a lifestyle.. Money...

Others had to know about this, get em..

OS

Excellent point OS,... but just like with poor Jessica Lundsford the people that knew won't be held accountable, I fear.   There is just so much wrong with the world these days... she needs to spend the rest of her days in a jail cell.

Oh, don't get me started on Jessica Lundsford case, I could personally find Coey (sp) sister and those in the that mobile home and bury them alive. I swear it makes me nuts to think about it. Samantha Runion is another case that makes me crazy. Well all the cases involving children just hurts my heart so much,. I can't stand to watch and I can't stand not to watch. Why would anyone hurt a child, a helpless disabled child/person. God help them when they meet their maker. That is the only thing that helps me through these cases, I don't think jail, death penalty is enough punishment for these monsters.

That witch had to have help to keep that place up, inside and out, of course she probably used the victims, I just want to know who all knew about this and did NOTHING. I have sent emails to all the MSM's asking them to find out, don't know if it will do any good, no one answers emails. Some probably don't even read em. But I am so ANGRY at this.

That pig doesn't look like she went hungry does she???

OS

No she doesn't and I agree people knew.   They should be held accountable.

This story upset me so much I couldn't post about it coherently for a while.
A slow burn in hell is too good for that woman. And for anyone who saw things, or even suspected that something was wrong, and did nothing to help, I hope they suffer from the guilt for the rest of their lives.
Over the years, there just had to be someone who saw a red flag and ignored it.
This country has just got to step up, and start protecting our vulnerable children. We are failing them at every turn.

FOSTER CARE/ADOPTION HELL:Judith Leekin Arrested in a House of Horrors:Police Find 9 Adopted Kids Handcuffed & Starved

http://www.scaredmonkeys.com/2007/07/31/foster-careadoption-helljudith-leekin-arrested-in-a-house-of-horrorspolice-find-9-adopted-kids-handcuffed-starved/

How is it that there are so many couples who have such a difficult time being able to adopt and the process in made so impossible, yet these leaches and abusers can make adoption into a cottage industry?

The criminals know how to game the system and the system fails our children

DCF investigated child abuse complaints against Leekin in 1999

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2007/aug/07/dcf-investigated-child-abuse-complaints-against-le/

NY officials stymied Fla. inquiry in '99 into woman in adopt scam
http://tinyurl.com/2ynq2g

The investigator found 3 aliases and 2 social security numbers for Judith Leekin.  She really worked at bilking the system and the worst is her abuse of the children. 

A new level of scammer for child welfare police

http://tinyurl.com/2luj6o

The sad, sad saga of the children in Judith Leekin's care continues:

Abuse, adoption scam may snare accused's son, prosecutor says
http://www.bradenton.com/331/story/127024.html

And it says an infant is unaccounted for

(Update 3) 11th Adoptee May Be Dead

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/216012/_Update_3_11th_Adoptee_May_Be_Dead

Excuse me....how do you lose track of a baby? How can that happen? If the child was placed in her care, then who failed to follow up?

State Attorney weighs filing charges against Judith Leekin's biological son

By Derek Simmonsen (Contact)
Originally published 05:51 p.m., August 21, 2007
Updated 05:51 p.m., August 21, 2007
PORT ST. LUCIE — The State Attorney’s Office is considering whether to file charges against the biological son of Judith Leekin after several of her adopted children claimed he helped his mother abuse them.
(snipped)
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2007/aug/21/state-attorney-weighs-filing-charges-against-judit/

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Sep 12, 2007 7:00 pm US/Eastern
Abusing The System? NYC Paid Leekin For Years
EXCLUSIVE: ACS Finally Speaks, Does Damage Control


Scott Weinberger
Reporting

http://wcbstv.com/watercooler/local_story_255171605.html

an 10, 5:26 PM EST

Police: Suspect May Have Killed 1 Child

By BRIAN SKOLOFF
Associated Press Writer


WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- A woman accused of adopting 11 disabled children for money and abusing them may have killed one child and disposed of the body, a detective said Thursday.

Judith Leekin, 62, was arrested in July and has pleaded not guilty to the multiple charges against her, including aggravated child abuse and aggravated abuse of disabled adults.

Nine of her adoptees - now ages 15 to 27 - are in Florida state custody, and another, now 19 years old, is on his own in the state. But authorities say they haven't been able to locate the 11th child, Shane Graham, who would also be 19.

Authorities say that after exhausting all their leads trying to find him, turning to the public for help is the last step before considering a murder charge.

"There's been no trace of this kid anywhere," said Detective Stuart Klearman of the Port St. Lucie police. "But the money was still flowing to her. She falsified documents to keep it flowing. What other option do we have other than he is deceased?"

Graham was last seen with Leekin in 1999 or 2000. The other adopted children have said Leekin told them he died.

The boy had suffered from Down syndrome, autism and sickle cell anemia, among other serious afflictions, Klearman said.

"He couldn't feed himself, bathe himself, do anything for himself," Klearman said. "He couldn't walk or speak. ... On his own, he could not survive."
Leekin has denied the abuse allegations, and a lawyer who previously represented her has said Leekin loved and nurtured the children she adopted. A telephone message left for her new attorney was not returned Thursday. Leekin remains in jail on more than $4 million bail.

Authorities say she adopted 11 disabled children in New York City over several years before moving to Florida in 1998. She used four aliases to adopt from different agencies and created fake report cards to show the children's progress, even though they were not attending school, according to court records and officials.

New York City records show she received more than $1.2 million in subsidies for the disabled children she had adopted.

Authorities say Leekin kept the children like prisoners in her Port St. Lucie home. They say the children were often handcuffed, beaten, starved and locked in a room, hidden from visitors and deprived of medical and dental care.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ABUSE_ADOPTED_CHILDREN?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

Woman gets nearly 11 years for NY adoption fraud

By Larry Neumeister, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK — A woman who lied to adopt 11 disabled children whom authorities say she abused while she raked in more than $1 million in subsidies was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 11 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman said Judith Leekin engaged in "a heartless, dangerous money-driven scheme" when she used fake names and lies about the children to defraud social service agencies in New York City and New York state.

Leekin, 63, has been accused of treating the children like prisoners, subjecting them to beatings and handcuffs while they stayed in a locked room without food, depriving them of medical and dental care and not sending them to school. Authorities said the children were so physically and emotionally abused they can never recover.

Leekin looked down and repeatedly dabbed her eyes and nose with tissue as Berman ordered her to serve 10 years and 10 months, nearly three years above the maximum penalty she had agreed to in a plea deal with prosecutors.

The judge also ordered Leekin to forfeit $1.68 million to benefit the children.
"This fraud turns the philosophy of adoption and the need to provide long-term care to children -- so important to our social services system ... it turns that system on its head," he said.

Before Leekin was sentenced, she sobbed and apologized for committing wire and mail fraud and promised to surrender all her assets. She pleaded guilty in May.

"I love my children," she said, "and I miss them."

The children, now ages 16 to 28, suffer from a variety of severe mental and physical disabilities, including autism and Down syndrome. Leekin began adopting them in 1988, when she lived in New York City. A decade later, she moved to Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Florida authorities have charged her with aggravated child abuse and aggravated abuse of disabled adults, and she could face as much as 120 years in prison if she is convicted of those and other charges.

Prosecutors say the high school dropout from Trinidad lived lavishly while forcing the adopted children to sleep on the floor of a storage room next to a garage and banning them from entering the house except to use the bathroom or kitchen.

Attorney Howard M. Talenfeld, speaking on behalf of 10 of the children, told the judge that none of the children could testify before him because they were too damaged by the abuse.

Nine of the children are now in foster or group homes. Another lives on his own in Florida. One child is missing and presumed dead.

Talenfeld said one child was afraid to face Leekin again while five others who were capable of speaking were not brought before the court because social-services professionals advised that they would be further emotionally and psychologically damaged by the experience.

Leekin's lawyer Diamond R. Litty noted that her client was cooperating and surrendering all assets. She said many of the allegations are uncorroborated and at least six of the children have said they "miss their mother and still love her."

Talenfeld said he was most troubled by the 2000 disappearance of a child who suffered from Down syndrome, autism and sickle cell anemia.

He said some of his siblings were told the child, who would be 19 today, was taken to a hospital, while others were told he was buried in the back yard.

The judge recommended that adoption programs use mandatory fingerprinting of prospective parents and a wider investigation of backgrounds before children are placed, and suggested surprise visits to adoptive parents and active monitoring by government agencies.

Berman also noted that Leekin had been abused as a child.

"Neglect leads to neglect," he said. "Adoption is a privilege, not a right."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-07-15-320350347_x.htm

I can't stand it when people abuse or neglect animals this way; it's unthinkable that this monster did this to children.  Handicapped children.  This woman deserves a whole lot worse than 11 years in prison.  Glad it wasn't in Vermont. 

updated 12:17 p.m. ET, Fri., Feb. 20, 2009
PORT ST. LUCIE - Authorities have searched the grounds of three homes owned by a convicted child abuser, looking for the body of one of her adopted children.

Judith Leekin was sentenced to 20 years in a Florida prison this month. She was also sentenced in New York to serve 11 years in federal prison for fraud. The terms are to run concurrently.

Authorities say they searched her Florida homes on Thursday after getting an anonymous tip. They say they were looking for the body of a 10-year-old adopted boy who disappeared a decade ago while in Leekin's care. They didn't find him but say the search will continue.

Leekin was accused of abusing 11 disabled children she adopted from New York while pocketing more than $1 million in subsidies for their care.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29299395/

where do all of these freaks come from?

http://scaredmonkeys.com/2007/07/31/foster-careadoption-helljudith-leekin-arrested-in-a-house-of-horrorspolice-find-9-adopted-kids-handcuffed-starved/

What kills me is that the freak only gets 11 years??? WTF is that?? 1 year for each child??? Unacceptable......  ::MonkeyNoNo::

ummmmmmm..... this is a woman??  ::MonkeyEek::
Florida Department of Corrections photo of Judith Leekin
(http://www.news4jax.com/2009/0220/18758171_245X242.jpg)

Monster mom gets 11 years for adoption fraud
BY THOMAS ZAMBITO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, July 16th 2008, 3:58 PM

"House of Horrors" foster mom Judith Leekin was slapped with 11 years in prison Tuesday, nearly three more than prosecutors agreed to in a May plea deal.

Manhattan Federal Judge Richard Berman called the case one of the "more extreme" examples of fraud he'd ever seen.

Leekin, 63, pleaded guilty to duping city and state agencies out of $1.2 million in adoption subsidies while keeping 11 children locked up in decrepit conditions at her Florida home.

"These children were pawns in Ms. Leekin's fraud scheme, which was diabolical in nature," Berman said.

Berman didn't let various child care agencies off the hook.

He suggested that fingerprinting of foster parents, more unannounced visits and regular interviews with neighbors might have prevented two decades of horrors.

Lawyers for the children say Leekin handcuffed +++++++ kids to crib rails, beat them with irons and had a 5-year-old living in a bucket.

"Adoption is a privilege, not a right," Berman said.

Leekin faces another 120 years in prison on Florida abuse charges.

"I'm sorry," Leekin said, wiping away tears. "I'm willing to surrender all my assets.

I love my children and I miss them."

Leekin must forfeit $1.68 million in assets, including two Florida homes. Any recovered money will go to caring for the 11 children, including one who's been missing for five years.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/07/16/2008-07-16_monster_mom_gets_11_years_for_adoption_f.html

Complete Exclusive Interview With Judith Leekin's biological Son....
It won't play for me, but others may be able to view it...

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/complete-exclusive-interview-with-judith-leekins-biological-son/1392533404

Nut noticed two threads are the same case.  I'm merging the former thread in "Crimes Against Children and Elderly"

http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=4586.0
Police Search Homes Of Abuser For Dead Child/PORT ST. LUCIE, FL

with this thread we are in now.
http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=1946.msg259208#msg259208
Re: Cops Find 9 Adopted Kids Handcuffed, Starved