foster parents

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Foster Dad Who Abused Turpin Children Is Sentenced

California's Marcelino Olguin gets 7 years; kids had previously endured years of torture from parents

(Newser) - A California man was sentenced Friday to seven years in prison for abusing foster children he'd been assigned to care for in his home, including some who'd been previously tortured by their parents. Marcelino Olguin, 65, was handcuffed and led away by sheriff's deputies in a courtroom...

US Couple to Pay $28K for Mistreating Foster Child

Some Ugandan activists are angered by the outcome

(Newser) - The US couple charged in Uganda with child trafficking and torture of their 10-year-old foster son has instead pleaded guilty to child cruelty and "inhumane treatment," reports the BBC . Whereas Mackenzie Leing Mathias Spencer and Nicholas Spencer faced life in prison if convicted of the original counts, they'...

Meet the Foster Dad Who Helps Children Die

The Libyan-born Muslim takes in the sickest kids

(Newser) - Several years after Mohamed Bzeek came to the US from Libya as a college student in 1978, the quiet, devout Muslim met a woman named Dawn who was a foster parent after being inspired by her grandparents, who had also been foster parents. The two married and began to foster...

Utah Judge Quits Gay Foster Moms' Case

April Hoagland and Rebecca Peirce say they're 'thankful'

(Newser) - The Utah judge who ordered a child removed from her gay foster parents has withdrawn from the case, leaving April Hoagland and Rebecca Peirce feeling "thankful." Judge Scott Johansen signed an order Monday referring the case to Judge Mary Manley. Many had been calling for Johansen's removal...

Utah Foster Moms Can Keep Baby—For Now

Judge reverses order to place baby with heterosexual couple

(Newser) - A 9-month-old girl will be allowed to stay with her foster moms—for now—after a Utah judge on Friday revised his earlier order to remove the baby and place her with a heterosexual couple, the New York Times reports. Following a major public outcry and motions to reconsider filed...

Judge Orders Gay Foster Parents to Give Up Baby

'We are shattered'

(Newser) - A Utah judge has ordered a 1-year-old girl removed from her foster parents after only three months simply because they are gay, KUTV reports. "We are shattered," April Hoagland says. According to the Salt Lake Tribune , the law allows any legally married couple to be foster parents, and...

Parents: Adopted Son, 12, Molested Our Other Kids

Seattle parents say social worker hadn't warned them

(Newser) - Foster parents in Seattle are suing the Department of Social and Health Services over an adopted 12-year-old boy who allegedly molested all of their other children, KIRO-TV reports. Trish and Steven, who gave only their first names, have three adopted and four biological children, and one of the latter (an...

Kansas Foster Baby Dead After Being Left in Car

Male guardian booked but not charged

(Newser) - A baby in Kansas is dead after being left in the back seat of a car for two hours, reports AP . A male foster parent, 29, has been arrested, but not charged, on suspicion of aggravated endangerment in the death of the 10-month-old girl. Authorities say Seth Jackson picked up...

Cops: Foster Mom Left Toddler in Hot Car

Monique Williams was arrested yesterday after incident at Florida Publix

(Newser) - The wave of kids-in-hot-cars stories continues: A Florida foster mom was arrested on child neglect charges after police say she left a 15-month-old in a hot car for 20 minutes yesterday while she shopped. An employee of Apopka's Publix grocery store saw the boy in the car, with the...

Police Find Boy Cuffed With Dead Chicken on Neck

Foster parents Dorian Lee Harper, Wanda Sue Larson arrested

(Newser) - A neighbor sums up the situation: "That's some sick people." An animal control deputy responding to concerns about a pig on the loose in Union County, NC, found something far more horrifying on Friday: a boy, 11, handcuffed to a porch, with a dead chicken wrapped around...

Foster Mom Jailed for Spanking Kid With Spoon

Will be sentenced to 100 days behind bars

(Newser) - A wooden-spoon spanking is landing a Connecticut foster mom in jail for third-degree assault. Jami Littlefield, 51, will be sentenced to 100 days in prison and two years' probation after she pleaded guilty to hitting a 4-year-old girl with the utensil, the Day reports. The child was "acting out,...

Teen Girls Charged With Murdering Foster Mom

One was already on probation for battery charges

(Newser) - Two 15-year-old girls who went missing after their foster mother was killed have been apprehended and charged with murdering her, New Mexico authorities said yesterday. A search for the teens began after Evelyn Miranda, 53, who was specially trained to take in troubled youths, was found dead Wednesday morning of...

Our Foster Care System Bullies Gay Kids

Many are moved around, harassed, or even experience violence

(Newser) - Kenneth Jones should have been an easy foster kid to place: Decent grades, no criminal record, and he even liked doing chores. Just one problem: He’s gay. Mother Jones relays Kenneth’s story in a long piece exploring the problems the foster care system has: According to one study,...

Abducted Girl Found Safe 7 Years Later

Young aunts took baby; she's never been to school

(Newser) - Details of a bizarre kidnapping emerge: A girl who was snatched as a baby 7 years ago in Los Angeles was raised by an Arizona couple who kept her out of school to hide her from authorities, officials said. Amber Nicklas, who turns 8 this month, was abducted in 2003...

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