Special Needs 15-Year-Old Russian Adoptee Disrupted, Raped by New Adoptive Father-Ksenia Anotova case UPDATED
Another abuse case comes to light in the midst of finalizing the bilateral agreement between US and Russia. To date, we cannot find a US article about the case of Ksenia. This case involves a single adoptive parent,Martha-Annette, who already had 4 children (1 bio and 3 adopted) when she adopted Ksenia in 2001. In 2009, she disrupted the adoption and Ksenia was adopted by the original adoptive parent’s sister and her husband Michael Gismore. Gismore was arrested in 2010 after what he claims was consensual sex with Ksenia, who turns out to be only 15, not 16 like some “forged” papers indicate. (Sixteen is the legal age of consent in Georgia.) Russia became involved this month when Ksenia looked to the Russian Embassy to correct her forged papers.
Who forged the papers? What adoption agencies were involved? Was the Savior-Complex mentality of saving a special needs child involved here? How was she re-homed? What is wrong with the Georgia legal system? 
The adoption community needs to wake up to the disruptions occuring with international adoptees. Please consider sharing international disruption information in our survey found here.
“Russia’s children’s ombudsman has accused the US of covering up the story of a Russian girl who was allegedly raped by her American adoptive father.
Ksenia was born a sick child, Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reports. In addition to a cleft palate, the girl had problems with her central nervous system and cardiovascular system. She had delayed physical development and at six years old she was only 87 centimeters tall and weighed 11 kilograms. Her biological mother handed her over to the orphanage when she was five, because of her health problems.
But Ksenia’s diagnoses did not scare Martha-Annette from America. She saw the girl in a database of Russian children up for adoption and liked the girl from first sight. Martha had been raising her one biological child and three adopted children alone. Ksenia became her forth adopted child in 2001. Her new mother promised Ksenia a happy life with her family.
But in 2009, the adoptive mother refused custody, and Ksenia was handed over to her sister’s family.
“Ksenia was a normal kid, not mentally challenged. She had some difficulties with speaking, like all kids with such illness like cleft palate, but after the operation she took lessons with a speech therapist. In addition, in a single report, which was sent to us from America six months after the adoption, it was said that the girl lived in good conditions, took part in different hobby groups, and had already begun to speak English. We all were very happy for Ksenia,” the head of the orphanage Leonid Lokotosh said.
Personnel from the orphanage where Ksenia had been raised for six years were shocked when they discovered that the new adoptive father, Mike, had allegedly regularly raped the child.
“It is hard to believe, that the stepfather could do that to the girl,” says Valentina Buneeva, the deputy director of the orphanage. She says that since1984 when the orphanage started its work, it is the first time one of their children have been in such a situation.
Police arrested the man in 2010. He admitted to having sex with the girl and insisted it was consensual. His lawyer provided documents from migration services in the Russian region Kemerovo, where Ksenia was born, which stated she was 16 years old. In the US state of Georgia, where the family lives, the age of consent is 16.
“According to our information, Ksenia was born in October in 1994,” – Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper cited Local department of Federal Migration Service’s spokesperson. “We do not know which documents American lawyers have, but falsification from our side is impossible. We are working on the ground of submitted documents.”
Russian children’s ombudsman Pavel Astakhov, who was visiting the US as part of the Medvedev-Obama workgroup for a new agreement to strengthen the adoption process, says the documents were clearly forged. The girl was actually 15 when the alleged sex crimes were committed. Russian authorities learned about the ongoing investigation only in June 2011.
“Apparently, we would have never learned about Ksenia’s tragedy, if there were no forged birth documents in the criminal case,” Astakhov said.
“The Russian consulate and the presidential ombudsman for children’s rights have taken the case under scrutiny and are very concerned with the situation, especially since the new bilateral Russia-US agreement on adoption has not been signed yet,” the official’s press service said.
Moscow and Washington are in negotiation over an adoption agreement, which would regulate the adoption of Russian children by US citizens. Moscow insists it should have more rights to monitor what happens to the children after the adoption.
The need for such an agreement became clear after Russia banned American families from adopting Russian children on April 2010, following several high-profile scandals involving such families.
The agreement is expected to be signed in mid-July, according to Astakhov. It will give Russia legal ground to learn about the well-being and possible abuse of some 60,000 children, who have been adopted in the US over the past 18 years, he said.”
US man suspected of raping adopted Russian daughter
[Russia Today 6/10/11]
“We would never have found out about this story if there had not been a mistake in the documents,” Astkhov said during a visit to the United States on Friday.
A Russian-U.S. working group is meeting in the United States to discuss a new adoption treaty that would tighten rules on adoptions between the two countries. Moscow insists it should have more rights to monitor what happens to children taken out of the country.
Astakhov said the new adoption treaty may be signed in July.
“If it is signed we would push for Ksenia’s return to Russia,” he said.”
U.S. man accused of raping Russian foster daughter says relations ‘consensual’
[Ria Novosti 6/10/11]
“Her foster father Michael Gismore is now fighting Georgian charges of sexually abusing the girl by arguing she was already 16 at the time of the coitus, that is beyond the age of consent in Georgia.”
“Had it not been for obvious inconsistencies in the girl’s papers, the Americans would have never informed the Russian side of the case. Many other child abuse cases involving Russian orphans in the United States go unreported to Russian consular officers. Unfortunately, such cases are many and involve multiple re-adoption as well as direct abuse. The main obstacle to openness is the absence of appropriate agreements between the two countries.”
Another Russian orphan abused by US foster parents
[The Voice of Russia 6/10/11 by Alexei Chernichenko]
Update: The adoptive parent is named in this article as Martha Annette Blendorf.
http://kem.kp.ru/online/news/911518/
[News 24 6/11/11 Google-translated]
The adoptive parent is named in this article as Martha Annette Blendford. Also it says that the adoptive parent “came to the orphanage on their own, bypassing the service adoption agencies” indicating an independent adoption. It appears that only one postplacement report at 6 months post-adoption was received in Russia.
http://kem.kp.ru/online/news/911689/
[News 24 6/11/11 Google-translated]
Update 2: Student news blog in US is first US news source to report this story. ” Russia on Thursday demanded that the United States launches a thorough investigation into the alleged rape of a Russian orphan by his foster father in the United States, RIA Novosti reported.
Alexander Lukashevich, spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that an investigation was requested in regards to Ksenia, a Russian orphan adopted by a U.S. family in the southern Georgia State.
“We demand that the U.S. authorities hold an all-embracing and thorough investigation into the assault of Ksenia and hand down a just verdict to the guilty party,” said Lukashevich.
The foster father, Michael Gismore, was arrested by U.S. authorities in 2010 and charged with regularly sexually abusing the 16-year-old. The defendant, however, claimed that the sexual intercourse with Ksenia was consensual and that the girl was 16 years old at the time.”
“Ksenia, who was born in Russia’s Kemerovo region, is currently at a children’s orphanage in Georgia, where she is receiving physical and psychological treatment.”
Russia demands U.S. investigation into alleged orphan rape case
[Channel 6 6/16/11]
Update 3: Pravda reports that she will be kept at a residential treatment center or ranch until age 21.
“American juvenile Themis is thinking what to do with a raped orphan from Russia. Ksenia Antonova, who was abused by her adoptive American father, after the cancellation of the adoption will not be returned to Russia. Until she turns 21, she is likely to be contained in the area for “troubled teenagers” and then released, with no support from anyone and any future prospects.
Raped Russian orphan to be isolated at children’s rancho in USA
[Pravda 6/20/11 by Arthur Pryjmak]
Update 4: “A legal battle continues in a court in the US state of Georgia, where a foster father who allegedly raped his adopted Russian daughter, is reportedly trying to prove that at the time the girl was 16 – the age of consensual sex under Georgia’s laws.
US national Michael Grismore’s lawyers are trying to supply the court with documents stating that his Russian foster child Ksenia was 16 at the time the alleged crime occurred, also claiming that the sex was consensual, RIA Novosti news agency reports, citing a source close to the case.The girl was initially adopted by Grismore’s female relative, Martha Annette Blenford, who later refused custody and handed her over to her sister’s home in the state of Georgia.
Michael Grismore was arrested in 2010 on charges of allegedly beating and raping Ksenia. RIA Novosti quoted its source as saying that it was Ksenia’s school teachers who heard about the situation first.
“The girl’s school teachers learned that she had had sexual intercourse with her stepfather,” the source said. “They started to ask her questions, involved a psychologist and, as a result, she told them some facts.”
“The girl said that her foster father coerced her to oral sex,” the source added. “On the same day the police and specialists conducted a forensic analysis, took DNA traces from her body and found the father’s DNA everywhere, so no questions remained.”
Following the revelation, Ksenia was taken out of the family and placed in an orphanage, while her foster father was arrested.
Russian authorities learnt about the case only in June 2011 after the American side requested documents needed to determine Ksenia’s age. The Russian Embassy in the United States, which the US investigators had addressed, filed a request to the Kemerovo Region, where the girl was born, to determine her real age. The reply from the local migration service said that Ksenia was born in October, 1994, which means that in summer 2010, when the crime allegedly occurred, she was just 15 years old.
On Friday, Russian Children’s Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov provided Russian investigators with documents proving that the girl had not reached the age of 16 at the time the crime was committed.
This comes contrary to a certificate from Grismore’s defense, which emerged in spring 2011, claiming that Ksenia was 16 at the time the alleged crime was committed. The certificate was signed by some official with the Kemerovo migration services.
The RIA Novosti source said that the investigation is in possession of a copy of Ksenia’s birth certificate, while the original remains with Martha Annette Blenford, who refuses to co-operate and release it.
The Russian Foreign Ministry demanded action from the US authorities. “The Russian side demands that the US authorities conduct a thorough and complete investigation into the violent acts against Ksenia and pass a just sentence on the guilty party,” ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich announced on Thursday.
He also added that Russian Foreign Ministry and Russian Embassy in the United States are closely monitoring the situation. Russian consular officials have already visited the girl and met with the judicial authorities in the state of Georgia, as well as lawyers and investigators. Lukashevich added that the Russian authorities are now in constant touch with the US Department of State, monitoring the developments in the case.
Russian diplomats said that they are ready to provide video conference connection with the court in Georgia, where Russian authorities could prove the authenticity of Ksenia’s birth certificate, but American prosecutors insist on their physical presence in the court room. The prosecutors say, providing they have all original documents, the verdict will most likely be passed at the end of August, 2011.
According to RIA Novosti source, Ksenia feels good now.
“She is a typical sociable teenager. She has eight friends in the orphanage and she is fine now,” the source said. “There are no suspicions that she is suffering some kind of deviation or could slander her father, as defense suggested. The girl communicates well, just practically forgot Russian, although she said that she remembers the orphanage in Russia.”
Michael Grismore has been released on bail and is currently under police supervision.”
Battle for DOB in adopted daughter rape case
[Russia Today 6/20/11]
Update 5: In this cached Briefing by Russian MFA Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich, June 16, 2011 http://www.isria.com/pages/17_June_2011_250.php. [Isria 6/17/11]
“Currently, the US Court of Cherokee County, Georgia, is hearing the case of American citizen Michael Grismore accused of beating and sexually abusing his foster daughter, Russian Xenia Mae Blenford, nee Xenia Dmitrievna Antonova, born in 1994.
According to available information, Xenia was adopted in 2001 by US citizen Martha Annette Blenford, receiving a new name: Xenia Mae. In June 2009, the adoptive mother renounced the girl and she was adopted by Martha Annette Blenford’s sister Mary Blenford, and her husband Michael Grismore.
After the incident, Xenia had a course of rehabilitation. Currently she is in an orphanage of the state of Georgia under the supervision of social workers; she is being given medical and psychological assistance.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry and Embassy in the US keep the situation under close control. Our consular officials have visited the girl. She’s been assisted in obtaining a new Russian passport. Our diplomats also met with representatives of the law enforcement and judicial authorities of the state of Georgia, as well as her temporary guardians, lawyers and the investigators conducting her case and we are now in constant touch with the US State Department on this issue. The Russian side demands that US authorities conduct a thorough and complete investigation into the violent acts against Xenia and pass a just sentence on the guilty party.
This outrage once again confirms the need for urgent conclusion of an agreement with the United States on cooperation in the field of international adoption. The document is almost ready, and after a final reconciliation to be held during the next round of consultations in Moscow on 22 June this year, will shortly be submitted for signature.”
We will assume that “orphanage” is therapeutic foster care. Still awaiting US media coverage other than us on this….not holding our breaths….
Update 6: The Wall Street Journal (Middle East version) becomes the first “US” publication to mention this case on July 12, 2011.
“Russian officials and American adoption advocates say the Cabinet-level oversight, strict licensing and prolonged reporting requirements would help detect troubled U.S. adoptions that have recently caused scandals in Russia.
In one such case, a Georgia woman, Marta Blanford, adopted a Russian girl in 2001 but gave up her parental rights in 2009. The child was then adopted by the woman’s sister and her husband, Michael Grismore. He was indicted last July on five counts involving the beating and sexual abuse of the child, and is awaiting trial in Cherokee County, Georgia.
Had Russian officials been informed of the second adoption, Mr. Astakhov said, they could have objected, or at least requested home-study reports on her new family. The U.S.-Russia accord requires such notification “in a reasonable time” and Russia’s consent for any readoption.
The reporting requirements spelled out in the accord could lead to more detailed contracts between American agencies and adoptive families, involving marginally higher fees, adoption specialists say.
“What the Russians are saying is, ‘We can ask you anytime about the child and you need to know where that child might be,’ ” said Larisa Mason, a board member of the Virginia-based National Council for Adoption, an adoption advocacy group. “There will be more responsibility on the agencies to be involved with the parents.”
U.S., Kremlin Reach Deal to Monitor Adoptions
[The Wall Street Journal 6/12/11 by Richard Boudreaux]
Update 7: Her full name is revealed in the Russian update–Ksenia Antonova. Additionally, it is confirmed that she IS still in Georgia and not at Ranch for Kids as some have speculated.
“We are closely watching the developments around Ksenia Antonova, a Russian girl adopted in the US, who in March 2010 was repeatedly raped by her American adoptive father Michael Grismore.
We absolutely do not understand the reasons for which the suspect in such a serious crime has been released on bail after preliminary court hearings. Moreover, lawyers of the accused tried to fabricate documents to prove that our compatriot was more than 16 years old at the time of the commission of the crime – under the laws of the State of Georgia, sexual relations with adolescents over this age are not a punishable offense. Thanks to efforts by diplomats of our Embassy in Washington, authentic documents were submitted to the court, proving that she had not yet attained her majority.
Also seriously worrying is the position of the social services of Cherokee County, Georgia, in whose care Ksenia now is. A severely traumatized child (physically and morally) has been arbitrarily placed in a psychiatric clinic, in violation of US rules and procedures. Such “therapy” has nothing to do with real concern for the health and rights of the Russian girl.
The Foreign Ministry and the Embassy in cooperation with Children Rights Commissioner for the President of the Russian Federation Pavel Astakhov are undertaking all measures to protect our young co-citizens in the United States. Russian diplomats are in constant contact with Ksenia; closely cooperate with the US State Department and Department of Justice, as well as Cherokee County authorities. Our focus is also on other crimes against Russian children adopted in the United States, including litigation over the Craver couple who tortured underage Vanya Skorobogatov to death. We are also seeking to achieve a just verdict in this flagrant case.”
The situation surrounding Ksenia Antonova, a Russian girl adopted in the United States
[Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation 9/8/11]
Update 8: The case is ongoing according to a December 28, 2011 Russia Today article. Pavel Astakhov: Russia with no orphans – such it will be by Maria Domnitskaya.
Russian Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov says, “I’ve decided to take part in the Kseniya Antonova process who was raped by her adoptive father during a second adoption because her documents were faked, including her birth certificate, where one year was added to her age, which meant that she was of age, and this is quite a different thing. I’ll go to the USA and will question the experts, who became permanent consultants for cases concerning Russian orphans and not always tell the truth.”
For more articles about Russia, see our Russia Files.
REFORM Puzzle Pieces
Update 9: According to the Cherokee County, Georgia Superior Court October 2012 Jury Trial pdf page 1, Michael Grismore will be on trial during either or both weeks of October 22, 2012 and October 29, 2012.
His case number is 10CR0648. Attorneys are listed as Brian Steel and Lawrence J. Zimmerman.
No media articles have been found since 2011.
Update 10: According to online searchable Cherokee County court records:
October 2012-continuance of trial and additional witness list
January 2013-motions for additional discovery. Trial was to begin January 28 but continuance
February 2013-amended witness list
March 2013-continuance and nonjury trial calendar
April 2013-certificate of service, motion to independently test DNA evidence and trial calendar on April 22
May 16, 2013-a consent order
His official 6 charges are as follows:
3 counts of child molestation
2 counts of aggravated child molestation
1 count of aggravated sexual battery
Update 11: According to online searchable Cherokee County court records,there is another trial calendar date of June 24, 2013.
Update 12: According to online searchable Cherokee County court records,there is another trial calendar date of January27,2014
Update 13: According to online searchable Cherokee County court records,there is another trial calendar date of April 21, 2014
Update 14: According to online searchable Cherokee County court records,there is another trial calendar date of June 23, 2014 but their is an amended witness list on July,7,2014
Update 15: According to online searchable Cherokee County court records,there was another trial calendar date of August 18, 2014, 9/22/14 and 10/20/14.On 10/16/14 a “MOTION FOR SPECIALLY SET JURY TRIAL” occurred.
Update 16: According to online searchable Cherokee County court records,there was a continuance on February 9 and another trial calendar date of February 23, 2015.
Update 17: 
Michael Grismore “received a three-year prison sentence and a seven-year suspended sentence in the American state of Georgia for the rape of his adopted Russian daughter, RIA Novosti reported Tuesday.
The man, Michael Grismore, was handed a cumulative 10-year sentence after pleading guilty in court Monday, Rachelle Carnesale, Chief Assistant District Attorney of Cherokee County, said in comments carried by news agency RIA Novosti.
According to legal news site RAPSI, Ksenia Antonova was initially adopted from Russia in 2001 by a woman named Marta Blanford, who subsequently gave up custody of Antonova in 2009, at which point the girl was adopted by Blanford’s sister and her husband, Grismore.
A case was initially opened into the alleged rape in 2010, but was suspended after Grismore’s defense submitted documentation attesting to the theory that Antonova had been 16 years old at the time of the sexual encounters. In Georgia, 16 is the age of consent.
But the case reopened in 2011, after Russia’s children’s rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov submitted additional documentation providing evidence that Antonova had been too young to legally consent to the encounters at the time.
Grismore subsequently pleaded guilty.
In addition to sentencing him, the court forbade Grismore from ever coming into contact with Antonova again.
Astakhov lauded the news, Tweeting on Tuesday morning: “I express gratitude to the employees of the Russian Foreign Ministry and the embassy in Washington for their help in restoring the rights of … Ksenia Antonova.”
According to RAPSI, the girl is currently undergoing treatment in a mental facility.
President Vladimir Putin signed a bill banning the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens in late 2012. While some socially conservative activists have supported the law, urging the importance of Russia taking care of its own orphans, critics have argued that the law made Russian children hostages of international politics.”
U.S. Man Sentenced for Rape of Adopted Russian Daughter[The Moscow Times 5/19/15 by Ivan Nechepurenko]
The ranch in Montana where Ksenia was put is infamous for using a fringe practice called "Attachment (Holding) Therapy" and its brutal parenting. Sterkle once claimed that children are sent to a nearby "Attachment (Holding) Therapist," and the ranch advocates Attachment Therapy parenting methods (http://www.childrenintherapy.org/essays/parenting.html).
All of these practices have been denounced as abusive by national mental health professional organizations (APSAC, APA Division on Child Maltreatment, etc.). Attachment Therapists unfortunately believe that their coercive restraint therapy is especially appropriate for rape victims to teach "corrective touch."
Many parents are attracted to AT because it puts all the blame for family problems on the child and allows the parents to abandon the child without guilt. These children have not gotten a legitimate evaluation and diagnosis; they may be perfectly fine kids, but with parents who had unrealistic expectations.
This is Rally. Thank you for your comment. It is unclear if she really is at Ranch for Kids in Montana. The only article mentioning this is the Pravda article in our Update 3. The article we cite in our Update 5 talks about an "orphanage" in the state of Georgia. The reason that I believe she would be in therapeutic foster care/RTC (what Russia refers to as orphanage) in Georgia over Ranch for Kids is that Ranch for Kids is an UNlicensed facility and I have a hard time believing that STATE care would pay for something that is UNlicensed.Many people don't realize that Ranch for Kids is not a state-licensed facility because they are JCICS members and Joyce has been featured in many media articles and talk shows. If you have further evidence that Ksenia/Xenia IS at Ranch for Kids, we would love to hear about it as that brings into question who is paying for the care as well as her well-being.
Ranch for Kids is bad news. Its website lists resources for Reactive Attachment Disorder (which Ksenia will surely be diagnosed to have) if she goes there. Those sources are the websites of Nancy Thomas (http://www.childrenintherapy.org/proponents/thomas.html), Ronald Federici (http://www.childrenintherapy.org/proponents/federici.html) and another site that also promotes Attachment Therapy and its abusive parenting methods. Clearly Ranch for Kids endorse high abusive practices — some that have killed children.
The State of Georgia has been a big promoter of Attachment Therapy in the past, and one can only assume that Ranch for Kids is a state-approved provider.
I hope the Russians rescue Ksenia and the rest of the children there.
This is Rally. To the best of our knowledge, Ranch For Kids is not approved by any state. It is not listed in the master list for the state where it is located, so we cannot make that assumption as evidence points to it NOT being approved. We also do not know what she has been diagnosed with or what therapies she is being treated with. But we do join you in hoping that her needs are met and that appropriate choices in real healing therapies are chosen by competent licensed people so she is able to live a fulfilling life.
I highly question whether this case was the first of their children to have undergone sexual abuse/assault. It is common knowledge that children are often abused sexually in Eastern European orphanages either by staff, staff's boyfriends or older residents. I know, our son went through this in a Ukrainian orphanage and he was only three when we adopted him. As to the man in Georgia, he should have all of his genitals removed. But, I am tired of these "officials" latching onto each case of abuse as if children in their countries never underwent such heinous acts.
There are foster-adopted parents all over this country abusing and coercing children-young teens to have sex and or sexual acts. We must begin to protect the weak and innocent or God will hold us accountable for our neglect. Seek Justice for those that cannot or will not do it for themselves.
Is this case still pending or is it officially closed in Georgia?
Anonymous, based on the only reports that we can find (from Russia) as of December 1, 2011, the case still appears to be in progress. These cases sometimes drag on for many months.
Did Rally think about what damage it might do to her to find out that information about her and her life is out there for all to see without any thought to her protection (such as changing names, etc)? I am shocked that any group presenting themselves as to bprotecting or promoting ethics in adoption would do such a horrendous thing. There migh have been a reason why you couldn’t find a US article about this case- others made the choices that you obviously didn’t.
We only identify names that are published in the press. At first,the only name was the second AP Grismore. Your reasoning for not finding a US article on the subject in the beginning is absolutely ridiculous. A crime was committed that has had international repercussions BECAUSE the US failed to tell Russia about it because no one seems to care to report these instances nor do the agencies or independent attorneys involved EVER have punishment. Again, we were not the first to give her name. The Russian press which is available on any Google search is the one that gave her name followed by others. I guess you can continue to be shocked.
Seriously? You have not only breached the confidentiality of this child, but you are also way off base! I have heard stories all my life of what happens to kids in Russian orphanages, and in other countries for that matter! Why isn’t Russia worried about protecting those children from sexual abuse? Hmm? I am sure there are places in the USA that are as bad, but not everyone in America or every place for a child to be is horrendous. I know of several places that serve many children, they are fed, safe and loved. You people have really got to get out more. Stop throwing rocks into someone else’s backyard and clean up your own. And by the way, you are just as guilty of rape as anyone-YOU raped this child by putting her entire story on a website. Should you be taken to court? I am totally not shocked. Disgusted, maybe. But not shocked. You need to work a little more on your homework. Why don’t you go live in a Russian orphanage for a week. See what really happens. Poor kid. Not only does she have to live with a horrible past, she has to put up with idiots posting her life for the whole world to see. Shame, shame.
I am being extremely generous to allow your post. Seriously, we have NOT breached the confidentiality of a child whose name was already published. Sorry that you have NO understanding of that. What does abuse in orphanages have to do with THIS case of a disruption and subsequent abuse IN THE US??? Are you trying to justify something in a very lame manner? We report on any documented orphanage abuse as well, dear. We did not ever say that “everyone in America or every place for a child” is horrendous.Are you smoking something as you type? Wow, you are emotional about this…do you know the abuser or something or ARE you the abuser?
We are adoptive parents who have adopted from those crappy orphanages in which you speak and we are American too.And NO, you moron, we did NOT rape this child, but you seriously need your head examined. We will continue to seek justice for these kids because their abusers rarely get punished or punished enough and adoption practices need to change NOW for the sake of these kids. YOU are the idiot.
Let’s be clear. We have written about the privacy of children on this blog. I am terribly uncomfortable when the media identifies children and when APs identify them by name in yahoo groups, adoption forums, photolistings etc. unless they are sadly, deceased. However, in cases like this their names are already public and people are following how it unfolds. This blog did not disclose anything confidential or identify a victim other than reprinting what is already very public knowledge. Do I wish she had never been named? YES But it was not the doing of this blog.
Serious – The point is not the awful-ness of a Russian orphanage. It is that HARM happened to this kid at the hands of her new parents, the people who were supposed to protect her!! Does it not scare you that APs who passed homestudies and security checks and background checks and the million other hoops required to adopt…. and cases like THIS are the result?! Does that not indicate there is a GREAT BIG PROBLEM and sweeping it under a rug is not going to fix it??
A hypothetical situation: There are numerous reports of people getting sick and even dying of of the same strain of salmonella after eating ham sandwiches. 50 people are sick/dead, but hey, millions of people eat ham sandwiches every day, so there is no need to investigate, right? Of course not! It is on the news every night!!! The CDC is called into investigate, to find the exact factory that is producing the contaminated ham.
Similarly, the ONLy way to fix the problem of abused/killed adoptees is to IDENTIFY the problem in order to fix it!!!!!
FYI: Michael Grismore was convicted after he plead guilty. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Only the Russian news reported this.