George Harasz case and Doug Wirth case UPDATED

From Glastonbury, Connecticut, foster/adoptive parents George Harasz, 48, and Doug Wirth,43, were taken into custody Wednesday November 30, 2011. George has two biological children.

George and Doug have adopted nine boys from three different branches of DCF. They were licensed by a private agency. Two different commissioners from DCF at two different points in time (2006 and 2008) waived the rule for number of children in the home. These adoptive parents were praised in a Harvard Courant December 2010 article for taking in children with RAD and having the 23 dogs and their pups help the children “heal.” The 7,000 square foot Victorian house on two acres that the couple lives in, with Harasz’s biological children and mother Anna, is in foreclosureGeorge was charged with  “two counts of first-degree sexual assault, aggravated first-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and cruelty to persons. He was being held, with bail set at $350,000.child.”

Doug was charged with “one count of third-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor. He was being held, with bail set at $75,000.”

“If Harasz and Wirth do not post bail, they will be arraigned Thursday at Superior Court in Manchester,” according to The Harvard Courant.

Defense from One Child

“Carlos Harasz, 19, said Wednesday that he has lived with Wirth and Harasz for more than 10 years. He said that he had never witnessed or experienced the abuse the two are accused of committing.

Carlos Harasz, a student at Central Connecticut State University, said that he and his siblings were shuffled among foster families and were suffering from “reactive attachment disorder,” which is common among children who have been passed from home to home or who have been removed from their parents’ homes,”according to The Harvard Courant.

The Investigation

“Police said they began an investigation into allegations of abuse in February. A second investigation began in August. The boys, three groups of siblings, were removed from the home in February, authorities said. In both cases, DCF notified police about the alleged abuse.”

Three different DCF area offices were involved with approving the adoptions, and two different Commissioner waivers to permit the home to exceed the regulatory licensed capacity were granted in 2006 and 2007,” Katz said.

Katz said that DCF would institute changes to better assess families seeking to adopt, including evaluating the past history of abuse experienced by prospective parents and the prospective parents’ own families.

DCF will also tighten guidelines for waivers permitting homes to exceed capacity, she said.”

Puppy Mill

Yes, another puppy mill. Why is it always the doodles? “The business, called “The Puppy Guy,” specialized in crossbred dogs such as goldendoodles, labradoodles and aussiedoodles.

The breeding business presented the couple with challenges, too.

In December 2009, Harasz was cited for a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals after Glastonbury’s animal control officer went to the couple’s home and found about 50 dogs in the basement.

The room had inadequate ventilation, and the smell of urine and feces was overwhelming, police said. Harasz’s kennel license allowed him to have 10 dogs, police said. Harasz was granted accelerated rehabilitation, a special form of probation, and the charges were dismissed.”

NBC refers to the business name as  “Puppy Love.”

Associated Press says “The two men began a puppy breeding business in their home to supplement their income. They put the boys to work in it.”

Timeframe of Adoptions

NBC reports “The couple adopted nine children from three separate groups of siblings between 2001 and 2008, Joette Katz, commissioner of the state Department of Children and Families, said in a news release. She said she became aware of the allegations soon after becoming commissioner.”

Glastonbury Couple Charged With Sexually Assaulting Adopted Children
[The Harvard Courant 11/30/11 by David Owens and Hilda Munoz]

Couple Charged With Sex Assault of Minor
[NBC Connecticut 11/30/11]

Conn. couple accused of sexually assaulting 9 children adopted through state agency
[The Republic 12/1/11 by Associated Press]

Update: “Police say there were two separate investigations, one that was launched back in February and another which started in August. George Harasz and Doug Wirth are both charged with sex assault of a minor.

The state’s Child Advocate said the case exposes not a crack, but a major crevice in Connecticut’s child safety net.

Because the nine adopted special needs children in the home were subsidized adoptions, it’s estimated that the state was paying as much as $12,000 per month to their adoptive parents, and that once they were adopted, there is no state supervision of any kind.”

Child advocate reacts to adoption arrests
[WTNH 12/1/11 by Mark Davis]

“A Glastonbury man charged with sexually assaulting some of his adopted children had traumatic experiences in his own background that, if known, might have disqualified him as an adoptive parent.

After George Harasz and partner Douglas Wirth were arrested Wednesday, Joette Katz, commissioner of the state Department of Children and Families, said the case prompted several reforms. Among them were more intensive background checks of prospective parents that now encompass the parents’ own upbringing and whether significant trauma was present.

Asked whether Harasz had experiences in his background that might have affected his suitability as an adoptive parent, Katz said: “We know it now; we didn’t know it then.”

“She would not comment further on Harasz’s background.

Katz also said Friday that she wanted to keep the Glastonbury allegations in perspective.

“The public sees a case like this, and its perception can become skewed,” she said. “The fact is that the percentage of kids maltreated in out-of-home placements is one-half of 1 percent. For every thousand children, that’s less than five. Now, that’s five too many.”

Harasz’s biological daughter, Jackie Harasz, 20, and his second-oldest adopted son, Carlos Harasz, 19, dispute the criminal charges and say Harasz and Wirth were loving parents who provided a healthy home life to the nine children they adopted over the last 11 years.

However, another adopted son, Chris Harasz, 18, said in interviews this week that the criminal charges have merit and that life inside the Glastonbury house was traumatic and unhealthy.

Harasz and Wirth were arraigned on the charges Thursday. They have not entered a plea. Both men are free after posting bail.”

“Katz said one of the lessons learned from the Glastonbury case so far is that background assessments of prospective foster and adoptive parents have to include the parents’ own experiences with significant physical, sexual, or emotional abuse.

“I don’t want to scare people off,” Katz, commissioner of DCF since January, said Friday, “but part of the home study has to be what trauma, if any, the prospective adoptive parents have suffered.

“We know [repressed] trauma can surface,” Katz continued. “Depending on what it is, it may not preclude a prospective parent, but it is certainly something we need to examine.”

Katz said the background information would be key to shaping support services for parents who are approved to receive children.” [They admit that asking about the prospective parent’s background was never part of the homestudy!]

“Harasz and Wirth were registered with a private adoption agency. What made them rare was that they wanted to adopt DCF children, said Ken Mysogland, DCF’s director of foster care and adoption services.” [Rare? Seriously? How about SUSPICIOUS?]

“Most parents who have agencies searching for children for them want to adopt foreign infants, or kids who are not in state care, he said.

Children formerly under DCF care make up the large majority of adopted children in Connecticut, but usually the private adoption companies aren’t involved in the process.

In this case. the Downey Side adoption agency, representing Harasz and Wirth, reached out to DCF and said it had a couple who wanted to adopt DCF children.

The private agency did a “home study” of the household and presented it “as a possible match … for the sibling groups in need of placement,” Mysogland said in written answers to a series of questions from The Courant.

The study of the Harasz/Wirth household was reviewed by DCF’s permanency planning team, which consists of DCF staffers and members of the community, and was “selected to be the best match for these children.”

Over the 11 years, two waivers were granted by different DCF commissioners to allow the family to exceed the usual capacity for adopted children. The first waiver allowed the two men to have six children; the second waiver allowed them to have nine.”DCF: Glastonbury Father Had Trauma In His Past
[The Harvard Courant 12/2/11 by Josh Kovner]

Update 2: Court records were unsealed on Thursday December 14, 2011 revealing many disgusting details of the abuse on the two victims–one child only aged 5. Particularly disturbing are the reports to DCF two years ago and yet the children remained in the home until 2011. WHY!?!

“In arrest warrants made public Thursday, a 15-year-old boy describes repeated sexual assaults and physical abuse at the hands of the Glastonbury couple who adopted him and eight other boys through the state Department of Children and Families.

In a separate warrant, another adopted child, a 5-year-old boy, describes for police, DCF workers and others sexual abuse he suffered while living with George Harasz, 48, and his husband, Douglas Wirth, 43.

The heavily redacted arrest warrants were unsealed Thursday at Superior Court in Manchester, where the cases against the men are pending.

A therapist who treated Harasz and some of the children is quoted in Harasz’s arrest warrant as saying she made a report to DCF more than two years ago about serious physical abuse in the family.

The therapist, Charlene Dotts-Mete, also reported to Glastonbury police investigators that Harasz admitted to her in November 2008 that he was using marijuana almost daily, and that she observed a deterioration in his mental state and the way he was treating the children, according to the warrant.

Harasz is accused of sexually assaulting both boys through sodomy and repeated inappropriate touching in bathrooms and bedrooms, according to the arrest warrants. The abuse often occurred under the guise of cleaning the boys, massages or a technique in which Harasz wrapped his legs and arms around the 15-year-old and fondled him, according to the warrant.

Wirth is accused of sexually assaulting the 15-year-old to a lesser degree, and of doing nothing to intervene as he witnessed Harasz sexually assaulting the teenager, according to the warrants. Harasz is also accused of physically abusing the 15-year-old, including hitting and slapping the boy frequently, and striking him with a belt.

Glastonbury police interviewed more than half of the couple’s nine adopted children, and several said they did not experience any inappropriate sexual contact with Harasz or Wirth. One of the adopted sons and Harasz’s biological daughter said no abuse occurred in the house.

In an interview, another adopted son, Chris Harasz, painted a different picture of what went on in the Harasz-Wirth home and described it as traumatic and unhealthy.

Harasz and Wirth were arrested on Nov. 30. Both are free on bail.

Harasz was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault, aggravated first-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and cruelty to persons.

Wirth was charged with one count of third-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor, allegedly for abuse to the 15-year-old.

The 15-year-old told police that he endured sexual abuse beginning at age 6, according to the warrants. He said he was forced to massage Harasz and Wirth, including both men’s genitals, according to the warrants.

The boy also said that Harasz touched his genitals while showering and had the boy touch Harasz’s genitals. Failure to do what Harasz directed resulted in beatings, the boy said.

The 15-year-old also told police that Wirth got into the shower with him and that Wirth touched his genitals and required him to touch Wirth’s genitals.

In a later interview, the 15-year-old told police of being sodomized by Harasz on three occasions. He did not initially disclose the sodomy, he said, because he was uncomfortable talking about it, according to the warrant.

The boy described an occasion in which Harasz learned that he wanted to leave the home, became angry, went into his bedroom and began to strike him and beat him with a belt, according to the warrant. Harasz then pulled the boy’s boxer shorts off and forcibly sodomized him, according to the warrant.

“The victim thought that George was trying to show the power he had over him, rather than satisfy a sexual urge,” the warrant says.

Police noted in the warrant that throughout their investigation the 15-year-old “has remained consistent with regards to the sexual acts perpetrated on him.”

The 5-year-old told police, over the course of several interviews conducted by forensic social workers, that Harasz sodomized him, according to the warrants. The boy, in a halting manner, also made disclosures about the abuse to a new foster parent, a DCF social worker, police and others. The boy said that the abuse “hurt,” and made him feel like “I want to die,” according to the warrant.

The men adopted nine boys through the DCF beginning in 2000. The boys are from three sibling groups. Harasz and Wirth received two waivers, one in 2006, and the second in 2008, in order to exceed the limit for adopted children in one household.

Police said they began an investigation into allegations of abuse in February. A second investigation began in August. The boys, three groups of siblings, were removed from the home about a month after the February investigation began, authorities said. In both cases, the state Department of Children and Families notified police about the alleged abuse.

DCF Commissioner Joette Katz, who was appointed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in January, was briefed on the allegations during her first weeks on the job.

According to Dotts-Mete’s statement to police, the previous DCF administration had been notified about significant problems in the Harasz-Wirth household.

Dotts-Mete told police that in February 2009 “[a child or children] started reporting they were getting hit and slapped, mainly in the face,” according to the warrant.

“In the summer of 2009, George became even more neglectful, not feeding [a child or children], no showers …,” the warrant quotes Dotts-Mete as saying.

“In October 2009, George terminated [a child’s] contact with Dotts-Mete, and out of concern for [a child], she made a referral to DCF. She believed that the victim was the hardest to deal with and probably received the brunt of the punishment, which included physical labor,” the warrant states.

Christine Palazzolo of Rocky Hill, who was godmother to some of the children, said the punishment and discipline included making the children who wet the bed at night wear their pull-ups on their head, according to the warrant.

Palazzolo also told investigators that Harasz approached her and asked her to speak to the 15-year-old “and have this case dropped and admit he was lying.”

“George told her that he will get people to discredit the victim,” the warrant states.”

Arrest Warrants Describe Allegations Of Sexual Abuse Of Two Boys, 5 and 15, By Glastonbury Couple
[Hartford Courant 12/15/11 by David Owens and Josh Kovner]

“The court didn’t have information if the men have lawyers. A home telephone listing wasn’t in service Thursday.

The two men were each charged with sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor. Harasz was additionally charged with cruelty to persons.”

“Harasz is due back in court Jan. 11 [2012]. Wirth is due back Jan. 10.[2012]”

Abuse charges detailed in warrants of Connecticut couple
[Norwich Bulletin 12/15/11 by Associated Press]

“After he was removed from the home, the [5-year-old] child told a Department of Children and Families Social Worker ‘I want to die’ over and over.

The boy told a therapist he was sexually attacked by his adoptive father, George Harasz.

An older boy told police that starting when he was 10-years-old, Harasz would molest him in the shower and in bed. Haras allegedly forced some of the children to give him massages.

Harasz allegedly told the boy that he was acting out of love.

The boy said Harasz controlled his other adoptive father, Doug Wirth.

Both men have been charged with sexual assault, but Wirth faces less serious charges.

One of the adopted children said he had never been abused, and never saw any abuse.

Some friends of the couple have said they never saw any sign of child abuse.

The case prompted the state Department of Children and families to say that in the future, it will check if any child abuse was experienced by parents seeking to adopt.”

Abused Glastonbury Boy: ‘I Want To Die’
[CBS Local Connecticut 12/15/11]

Update 3: This case is mentioned in the article to fix Connecticut DCF.

“The recent Glastonbury case involving child molestation charges also has forced the agency to change the way it sizes up the fitness of foster and adoptive families. Felony sexual abuse charges were filed against two men who adopted nine DCF boys over 11 years. Though the boys in the Glastonbury case were adopted, DCF subsidies and support services followed the children because they came out of foster care.

So while the agency needs to line up many more of these families and match them up with young people who have increasingly complex problems, it has to do so more carefully and selectively than it ever has before.”

“Looking Hard At Families

The more the department relies on foster and adoptive care, the more careful it has to be about granting over-capacity waivers — the permission for a family to exceed the number of foster or prospective adoptive children for which it is licensed.

The Glastonbury case made that clear. The two men who adopted the nine children received two waivers, one in 2006 and another 2008, that enabled two additional sibling groups to come into the home. The number of children the couple adopted and the number of waivers they received made the Glastonbury situation unusual.

Out of the more than 6,300 foster and adoptive homes, the department granted 17 over-capacity waivers in 2010. Last year, 22 were granted. The majority in both years went to relatives caring for children in their extended families.

When Katz came on, she delegated the job of approving waivers to division chief Mysogland, a former DCF regional director and a man who grew up with eight adopted brothers and sisters.

After the Glastonbury case, Katz took back the final say on waiver approvals, with Mysogland as her chief consultant.

“Now we really need to look hard at the strength of the family. Those numbers [above the licensed capacity] can be the tipping point that overwhelms a family,” Mysogland said.

“We need,” he added, “to make sure we’re bringing in the type of family that understands the needs of our children.””

DCF Forcing Itself To Fix Foster Care System
[The Hartford Courant 1/7/12 by Josh Kovner]

REFORM Puzzle Pieces

Screening needs to improve. Waivers need to be scrutinized.

Monitoring and child interviews need to be stepped up to protect the children.

 

Adoptive parents and DCF need to be accountable for this case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update 4: On January 17, 2012, both pleaded “not guilty Tuesday in Superior Court in Hartford.”

“The warrants for the men’s arrest describe abuse of two boys, now ages 5 and 15, through sodomy and inappropriate touching. Other children in the household told police they did not experience any inappropriate sexual contact.

Harasz faces charged including two counts of first-degree sexual assault. Wirth is charged with one count of third-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.”

Their cases were continued to February 29, 2012.

Parents Plead Not Guilty In Assault of Their Children

[CBS Connecticut 1/17/12 by Associated Press]

According to a search of the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch public search, George Harasz is back in court for pre-trial on June 29, 2012. He had a $100,000 bond and is out of custody currently. The class A felony is “SEX 1-VCTM<13YR ACTOR>2Y OLDER”  and The class B felony is “ILL SEXUAL CONTACT-VCTM” Another file lists a Class C felony of risk of injury to a child with a $250,000 bond and that he was released from custody.

Doug Wirth also has a pretrial on June 29, 2012. His file lists a $75,000 bond and that he was released from custody. Also it lists a Class B felony of “SEX 1-USE OR THREAT OF FORCE “, A Class C felony of “RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD ” and a Class D felony of “SEXUAL ASSAULT 3RD DEG ”

Update 5: George and Doug are scheduled for  a pretrial hearing on October 1, 2012 according to the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch public search.

Update 6: “Two Glastonbury men who were initially facing charges of sexually assaulting their adopted children pleaded no contest in Superior Court Friday to lesser charges of risk of injury to a minor and will likely avoid jail time.

 

George Harasz and Douglas Wirth, of Glastonbury, pleaded no contest in Hartford Superior Court on Friday, Jan. 4, to a single count each of risk of injury to a minor under a plea agreement with the state. Under the agreement, both men will receive suspended sentences and serve no jail time.

During a sentencing on March 8 Judge Joan Alexander will decide whether the men will have to register as sex offenders.

Harasz and Wirth were first arrested in November 2011, after allegations surfaced that the married couple had abused two of their nine adopted children. The boys were 5 and 15 years old at the time, according to their court affidavits.

The warrants for the couple’s arrest allege that the boys were touched inappropriately, sexually assaulted, and physically abused. Some of the alleged abuse included forced labor, beatings, being physically restrained and being forced to sleep in closets.

The men adopted nine boys through the Department of Children and Families beginning in 2000. They received two waivers from DCF to exceed the limit for adopted children in one household, first in 2006 and then in 2008.

The boys were removed from Harasz and Wirth’s home after the investigation began in February 2011.

Though the plea bargain drew criticism during its presentation Friday, state prosecutor David Zagaja said that the allegations would have been difficult to prove due to a lack of forensic evidence.”

No Contest Plea for Local Couple Accused of Sexually Assaulting Adopted Children

[South Windsor Patch 1/8/13 by Robert Muirhead]

A search of public State of Connecticut judiciary court cases reveals that they pled guilty to 53-21(a)(1) RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD which is a Class C Felony.

Update 7:

“Two men accused of sexually abusing their adopted children are facing trial after withdrawing from a plea agreement.

 

 

 

 

Conn. men facing trial in child sex abuse case

[Boston.com 4/5/13 by Associated Press]

A search of public State of Connecticut judiciary court cases reveals that a pretrial is scheduled for June 5, 2013. There are 3 charges currently for George Harasz: 1 count of a Class A Felony Statute 53a-70(a)(2) SEX 1-VCTM<13YR ACTOR>2Y OLDER; 1 count of a Class B Felony Statute 53a-70(a)(1) SEX 1-USE OR THREAT OF FORCE; and 1 count of a Class C Felony Statute 53-21(a)(1) RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD .

Doug Wirth also has a pretrial scheduled for June 5, 2013. He has 3 charges currently that include the following: 1 count of a Class B Felony Statute 53a-70(a)(1) SEX 1-USE OR THREAT OF FORCE; 1 count of a Class D Felony Statute 53a-72a SEXUAL ASSAULT 3RD DEG; and 1 count of a Class C Felony Statute 53-21(a)(1) RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD .

Update 8: The local paper has many more details than the self-censoring Associated Press.

“The unusual action came during what was to be a sentencing hearing for George Harasz and Douglas Wirth, who entered pleas in January to one felony count each of risk of injury to a minor. They agreed to suspended prison sentences. The only issue for Friday’s hearing was to be whether each would be required to register as sex offenders.

But a new allegation of sexual assault against Harasz by one of the victims, contained in a pre-sentence investigation of Harasz, helped scrap the plea agreement. The case was further clouded Friday by disclosure in court of new allegations of abuse by three other of the nine children. No new criminal charges have been filed.

 

The new information gives rise to the possibility of new criminal charges, and therefore continuing with Friday’s planned sentencing would not have been prudent, prosecutor David Zagaja told Judge Joan K. Alexander. Further, Zagaja said, the victim has said he wants to testify against Wirth and Harasz at trial.

 

“I think the only proper resolution of this matter is to try it,” Zagaja said.

 

Initially, Harasz, 49, was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault, aggravated first-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and cruelty to persons. Wirth, 45, was initially charged with third-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor. Those charges were reduced to a single charge for each man as part of the plea agreement.

 

Defense attorneys Hubert J. Santos, representing Harasz, and Michael Dwyer, representing Wirth, reached the same conclusion and asked the judge to allow their clients to withdraw the no-contest pleas they entered in January.

 

“This case needs to be tried so these men can clear their names,” Santos said.

 

The judge agreed to allow them to withdraw the pleas. While acknowledging a trial is a risk for the prosecution and the defense, Alexander said having a trial is “in the interest of justice. The facts must be shown and must be shown publicly.”

 

The new allegations of abuse revealed in the pre-sentence investigation are “dramatically different and more extreme,” the judge said.

 

“[The son said] he has scars from being held down and raped and that those injuries were inflicted by a weapon,” Zagaja said, quoting the report.

 

Alexander also had pointed questions for a state Department of Children and Families lawyer. She asked why a DCF social worker, who accompanied the victim to the interview with a probation officer, heard the new allegation of sexual assault and did not report it to law enforcement. State law requires DCF officials to report such allegations to law enforcement within 12 hours, she noted.

 

Matthew LaRock, a DCF attorney who was in court Friday, responded that the DCF worker thought the allegation was part and parcel of the criminal case pending against Wirth and Harasz.

 

Alexander called the response “disingenuous.”

 

The victim noted in the interview that he had never told investigators about the incident, the judge said. “How could that be interpreted as part and parcel,” she asked.

 

Later, DCF Commissioner Joette Katz, who was also in court, said the new allegation would immediately be referred for investigation. She also revealed that three of five younger children the couple adopted have alleged abuse by Wirth and Harasz to counselors.

 

Although the sentencing did not proceed, one of the alleged teenage victims spoke and urged that Wirth and Harasz be jailed. He said the physical, psychological and sexual abuse began when he was 6 years old. Wirth and Harasz would touch him and violate him, he said, and would make him satisfy them sexually. The alleged victim — the same one who made the new allegations — said Harasz and Wirth abused him when no one else was around.

 

“They took turns raping me over and over,” he said. “Anyone who would do this to a child is a sick, demented person.”

 

Several others people spoke on behalf of Wirth and Harasz, including Carlos Harasz, the brother of two of the men who have made allegations against their parents; Harasz’s biological son and daughter; and Wirth’s father Russell Wirth. They called the accusers liars and said they were mentally ill.

 

Carlos Harasz said his brother was lying. The abuse he described, Carlos Harasz said, was what he and his brothers instead suffered at the hand of other foster parents. Harasz and Wirth did not abuse them, he said.

 

“I told the truth,” Carlos Harasz said, “that nothing ever happened.”

 

Harasz and Wirth, Carlos Harasz said, gave he and his brothers a “normal, painless life” after years of being abused and neglected by other foster families and his own mother. He asked why it took three incidents to get him removed from his mother’s home, but only “one statement from a disturbed kid to kill the souls of Doug and George.”

 

DCF and the police failed to properly investigate and “took the word of an angry, damaged, disturbed boy and destroyed a family.” He said “DCF was played by my brothers.”

 

Russell Wirth described his son and Harasz as “loving, dedicated parents” who were destroyed by the false allegations of the children they sought to help.

 

“Take responsibility for your actions,” he said to the three older brothers aligned against Wirth and Harasz. “You know the truth. The truth will set you free.”

 

Santos said there are school reports that outline lying by the accusers and hallucinations on the part of one.

 

Dwyer, the attorney for Wirth, said that at a trial witnesses, including therapists, would undercut the allegations the brothers have made against Wirth and Harasz.

 

Zagaja said the plea agreement was an appropriate resolution of the case given the challenge the state would face in meeting its burden of proof at a trial.

 

The judge outlined several of those problems before allowing the men to withdraw their pleas. She said DCF had been actively involved with the family, had investigated allegations of abuse, and had sustained one. A question at trial will be whether the previous complaints were true or whether DCF had been incompetent. The state also has no forensic evidence of the assaults, she said.

 

The judge also noted that DCF also departed from its own rules in allowing Wirth and Harasz to adopt so many children. Twice, the couple was granted waivers to adopt more children, she noted.

 

She ordered the parties back to court June 5. The long continuance is to allow police to investigate the new allegations and to report to prosecutors.

 

The men adopted nine boys, from three sibling groups, beginning in 2000. Police began an investigation in February 2011, and the boys were removed from the home. A second investigation began six months later.”

 

Plea Agreement For No Jail Blows Up; Glastonbury Couple Accused Of Abusing Boys Headed To Trial

[The Hartford Courant 4/5/13 by David Owens and Kelly Glista]

Additional REFORM Puzzle Piece

 This is now added due to the DCF worker purposely not reporting the new allegations of abuse to law enforcement.

Update 9/July 16, 2013

A search of Connecticut court records shows that George had a pretrial hearing on July 16, 2013.

He currently has 5 charges pending in two files: two Felony A counts of “SEX 1-VCTM<13YR ACTOR>2Y OLDER “; one Felony B count of “SEX 1-USE OR THREAT OF FORCE “; one Felony B count of “ILL SEXUAL CONTACT-VCTM”; and one Felony C count of “RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD “.

A Search of Connecticut court records shows that Doug also had a pretrial hearing on July 16, 2013. His charges remain the same: a Class B felony of “SEX 1-USE OR THREAT OF FORCE “, A Class C felony of “RISK OF INJURY TO CHILD ” and a Class D felony of “SEXUAL ASSAULT 3RD DEG ”

Update 10/August 17, 2013

A search of Connecticut court records shows that George and Doug have pretrial hearings on September 9, 2013.

Update 11/September 14, 2013

“Prosecutors declined to sign arrest warrants alleging sexual abuse by a Connecticut same-sex couple, saying police need to investigate the matter further.

The case against George Harasz and his partner David Wirth has been a complicated one. The two men have adopted nine boys from three sibling groups through the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. Some of the children have brought allegations of ongoing sexual abuse while others say the accusers are lying and have stood by their adoptive fathers.

Prosecutor Anthony Bochicchio said new allegations of sex abuse, which surfaced at a court hearing in April, came after the men had reached a plea deal with prosecutors that would have granted them suspended sentences on a single charge each of risk of injury to a minor. The judge allowed the men to vacate their pleas after the new allegations surfaced.

Harasz and Wirth, of Glastonbury, Conn., have steadfastly denied any abuse took place.

Bochicchio said in April police needed to review the matter more closely. Since then some of those allegations were deemed not credible. The most recent allegations against the two men were made in July and prosecutors said they, too, still require more investigation, resulting in Bochicchio’s decision not to sign the arrest warrants, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant said.

Initially, Harasz was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault, aggravated first-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and cruelty to persons. Wirth initially was charged with third-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.”

Prosecutors delay new abuse charges in adoption case

[UPI 9/10/13]

A search of Connecticut court records shows that George and Doug have pretrial hearings on October 28, 2013.

Update 12:

A search of Connecticut court records shows that George and Doug have pretrial hearings on February 28,2014

Update 13: A search of Connecticut court records shows that George and Doug have pretrial hearings on July 14,2014.

Update 14: “A Superior Court judge has ordered that a guardian be appointed to help determine whether a psychologically fragile child should be required to testify in the trial for two former Glastonbury men who have been accused of sexually assaulting him.

In her decision released this week, Hartford Superior Court Judge Julia D. Dewey ordered that a list of possible guardians be submitted to her by Monday. She said in her decision that she’ll choose one from the list.

The trial for George Harasz and Douglas Wirth is scheduled to begin Sept. 3. Each faces charges of sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.

The men adopted nine children from three sibling groups and for a time ran a dog-breeding business from their Glastonbury home. The men obtained waivers from DCF to adopt so many children.

Dewey wants the guardian to provide her with information to allow her to make “an informed decision” about whether the child should testify.

Defense attorneys Michael Dwyer of Middletown and Hubert J. Santos of Hartford said at a hearing last month that the case against the two men is being pushed by Commissioner Joette Katz of the state Department of Children and Families despite concern by the boy’s therapists that he could suffer harm if he’s forced to testify.

The boy is in the custody of DCF. All of the boys placed with Wirth and Harasz were at one time DCF clients. Some accused the couple of abuse and others, including brothers of the accusers, said no abuse occurred and that their brothers were lying.

Dwyer, in his motion to have the guardian appointed, argued that DCF and Katz were ignoring the child’s well-being and that a guardian independent of DCF would better protect the boy’s interests. Dewey agreed.

In arguing for the appointment of a non-DCF guardian, Dwyer said Katz has not been listening to what professionals have said about the boy, who would be a key state witness.

Dwyer also said DCF has a potential conflict of interest because claims have been filed against DCF on behalf of the boys.

Santos was more blunt. “The idea that Commissioner Katz is an objective, fair-minded individual in this matter belies her active involvement in this case,” Santos said at a June 9 hearing before Dewey. “Commissioner Katz, it is my understanding, has intervened to remove one of the prosecutors in this case. The reason we’re here is she’s intent on convicting each of our respective clients and there is … [a] conflict.”

A spokesman for Katz said she plays no role in assigning prosecutors to the case.

The state’s cases against Wirth and Harasz have weakened since the former couple were arrested in December 2011.

From the start, some of the couple’s children defended Wirth and Harasz, insisting the allegations were groundless. Subsequent accusations against the couple were investigated and in some cases found to be not credible.”

Judge Orders Appointment Of Guardian For Boy Accusing Parents Of Sexual Abuse[The Hartford Courant 7/11/14 by David Owens]

“The successful efforts of Connecticut’s top child welfare agency to rescue nine children from ongoing sexual abuse has run afoul of the State prosecutors. A policy of refusing to meaningfully track or prosecute Connecticut’s most dangerous child sex predators leaves them without protection.

The case centers on George Harasz and Douglas Wirth, a married couple who adopted nine boys. George Harasz, 48, was charged with sexual assault in the first degree, two counts of injury to a minor, aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault in the third degree and cruelty to persons. Douglas Wirth, 43, was charged with sexual assault in the third degree and injury to a minor.

Meanwhile, the public’s safety may be at risk while the industry professionals involved continue to turn a buck off the victim’s misfortune as the case drags on at the taxpayer’s expense.

Soon after Joette Katz took the helm as Commissioner of Connecticut’s troubled Department of Children (DCF) in the winter of 2010, she became concerned for the welfare of nine Glastonbury boys after the agency received credible reports that they were being abused and/or raped by their adoptive fathers.

By February of 2011, the police had opened an investigation and DCF removed the children from their alleged attacker’s care.

“We didn’t wait for the arrests,” said Katz, stressing the agency’s focus on child welfare and public safety.

By the fall of 2011, Douglas Wirth and his romantic partner George Harasz faced dozens of criminal charges for physically, sexually, and emotionally assaulting the alleged victims, who were determined to have their day in court to tell the justice system about the house of horrors they grew up in.

“They took turns raping me over and over,” one victim testified, explaining at the hearing that in his case, his adoptive fathers began raping him at the tender age of 6.

“Anyone who would do this to a child is a sick, demented person.”

But prosecutors seem determined to let the defendants off the hook without any jail time or a significant mark on their records, which may signal bigger problems afoot in the State’s top law enforcement agency.

Statistics provided by the Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services, Inc. (CONNSACS) suggest that 14% of Connecticut’s population have experienced childhood sexual assault. One in five Connecticut victims are girls (18%) and one in fourteen victims are boys (7%).

According to Connecticut’s Uniform Crime Reports, there were 3.59 million people living in Connecticut in 2012, 923 rapes of women were reported, but only 169 adults were arrested that year on rape charges. Unfortunately, the State defines “rape” as “carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will,” but apparently does not track the many men and children who are sexually assaulted each year, but there may be as many as 502,600 Connecticut residents could be included in that figure.

Given the horrifying allegations in this case and the ramifications to public safety if they are true, it is difficult to understand whether the State’s attorney is merely asleep at the wheel, or just unfit and/or unwilling to prosecute the defendants. What is clear from the evidence and data collected by Connecticut’s top law enforcement officials is that the State has become particularly predator friendly, and court industry professionals are cashing in.

ABUSED CHILDREN TRAPPED IN GLASTONBURY HOUSE OF HORRORS

The victims in this case are little boys who may never have known what it feels like to be safe, loved, and nurtured. They were born innocently into three separate families which were unfit or unwilling to care for them, and in some cases, the boys were physically, sexually and emotionally abused by the same hands which may or may not have fed them.

When the agency was unable to rehabilitate their parents or place the boys with a relative caregiver, they became wards of the State and nobody’s sons. Perhaps the victims learned early that faith in humanity was no friend of theirs, yet as foster children, they were thrust into an alien world where both self-sufficiency and reliance on strangers are at a premium and their only hope for survival.

Even if the victims had known what to expect, they did not have the power to object when DCF decided to place them in the defendants’ care.

Beginning in 2000, Dennis Harasz and Douglas Wirth began adopting little boys who were in DCF custody and raising them in their sprawling Glastonbury home. At the time of their arrest, the State had allowed the gay couple to adopt a total of nine little boys after DCF granted them waivers in 2006 and 2008 to exceed the limit for adopted children in one household.

One adopted son, Chris Harasz, 18, described life inside his fathers’ Glastonbury home to the Hartford Courant as traumatic and unhealthy. However, the Glastonbury Police Department’s reports give a more disturbing view through the children’s eyes into the house of horrors and brutal, torture filled life they said they endured at the hands of Harasz and Wirth.

The victims (then age 6 and 15) told similar stories about how Harasz and Wirth had sexually assaulted them and forced them to perform sexual favors on them, their friends and the drugs involved, and if they refused or tried to protect each other they were beaten with belts, locked in closets, forced to sit outside in the elements for days on end, and forcibly sodomized.

The children described Harasz to the police as the main aggressor in many of the rapes, while Wirth was a man with extraordinary concentration abilities who passively participated in the crimes by refusing to rescue the children and working on his computer in the same room as the crimes were carried out.

If the allegations against the father’s are true, one has to wonder what important work Wirth may have been performing while his sons’ innocence was destroyed just footsteps away?

Chris Harasz says he believes that the criminal charges against his fathers have merit. But police reports only represent a list of allegations and criminal charges. They are not proof of innocence or a substitute for every defendant’s right to a fair trial before he is judged guilty.

By 2014, Prosecutor David Zagaja had agreed to reduce the charges against Harasz and Wirth to a single charge for each man, who agreed to plead no contest to the charges if they were spared the inconvenience of spending a single day in jail or having to register as sex offenders.

The predator friendly plea agreement blew up in Zaraga’s face and fell through in June 2014 after DCF, the victim’s legal guardian objected. It was then that Zaraga chose to remove himself from the case over the fiasco rather than stay and fight for the defendants, sending the attorneys for the accused up in arms over the matter.”

 

Glastonbury, CT prosecutors fail child sex abuse victims
[Community Digital News 7/12/14 by Anee Stevenon]

Update 15:”A trial began Tuesday for one of two men accused of sexually assaulting boys they adopted through the state Department of Children and Families, with his accuser describing physical and sexual abuse he said he endured from both men over several years.

The state had sought to try George Harasz, 51, and Douglas Wirth, 46, together, but their defense attorneys objected and convinced Hartford Superior Court Judge Julia D. Dewey to hold separate trials. Both also waived their right to a jury trial and opted to have Dewey hear the evidence against them and render a verdict.

Wirth’s trial is first. But before testimony began, Wirth’s lawyer, Michael Dwyer of Middletown, tried to get the judge to admit medical reports that he contends are evidence of the accuser’s propensity to lie and exaggerate. Dwyer argued that the accuser’s competency to tell the truth was at issue.

Dewey responded that competence related only to whether the accuser could understand the obligation of his oath to tell the truth. The credibility of his testimony would be a matter for her to determine, after hearing his testimony as well as cross-examination, she said.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Tanaka questioned the accuser about his life with Wirth and Harasz and about when he first made disclosures about abuse he says he suffered. The accuser, who is now 19, said that he was 5 when he and his brothers moved in with Wirth and Harasz, and that he was in elementary school when he made his first disclosure.

The person he told about the abuse called Harasz, and when Harasz got home, “George hit me once or twice and asked me why I’d made up a lie to the school,” the accuser testified.

The accuser said that he made another disclosure of abuse when he was in sixth grade and that the DCF investigated, but did nothing. He ended up getting grounded by Wirth and Harasz, he said.

The boy said that Harasz was responsible for most of the abuse, but that Wirth joined in, too. The abuse occurred in the shower and in the bedroom the men shared, he testified.

Since the case began, the accuser has made additional allegations about abuse, and he testified that he is stronger and better able to talk about what he endured.

Investigators examining the allegations were not able to substantiate some of the allegations.

The charges against Wirth include first-degree sexual assault, four counts of third-degree sexual assault, risk of injury to a minor and two counts of illicit sexual contact with a minor. The state is proceeding against Wirth only based on the accusations by the 19-year-old.

Dwyer sought to highlight for the judge how the boy’s allegations have evolved over time. The accuser initially told authorities that he was sexually assaulted two or three times, but now contends it he was assaulted in excess of six times.

On his 15th birthday, on March 20, 20100, the accuser testified, both men sexually assaulted him. The accuser said he was taking a shower and that Harasz got in with him, rubbed soap onto him and touched his genitals. The accuser testified that he then had to do the same to Harasz. Such contact was common, he said.

Later that day, the accuser testified, he was face down on a bed and Harasz sexually assaulted him. Wirth went next, he said.

The abuse the accuser described Tuesday differed from what he told investigators in August 2011, Dwyer pointed out during cross-examination.

Much of Dwyer’s cross-examination, which is expected to continue Wednesday, focused on inconsistencies in the accuser’s stories and testimony, as well as lies he has told.

His story about one incident changed from Monday, when he talked to prosecutors about the incident, to Tuesday, when he testified about it.

Also during a meeting with prosecutors, the accuser told them he was attending Southern Connecticut State University and playing football for the school. Under questioning by Dwyer, the accuser admitted he lied about college and playing football.

Dwyer also asked the accuser about comments he’d made about his biological mother and father. He admitted telling people his mother was dead and that his father was on death row for raping women, then admitting that those were lies.

“Have you ever had treatment for telling stories,” Dwyer asked the accuser.

“I’ve been put places,” he responded.”

Trial Opens In Glastonbury Foster Parent’s Sexual Assault Case[The Hartford Courant 9/9/14 by David Owens]

Update 16:“The prosecution on Tuesday rested its case against Douglas Wirth, a former Glastonbury resident accused of abusing boys he and his former husband adopted through the state Department of Children and Families.

The state’s final witness was Theresa Montelli, a clinical social worker and forensic interviewer in the child sexual abuse clinic at Yale-New Haven Hospital, who testified about how children disclose when they’ve been sexually abused.

It was the fourth day of Wirth’s trial in Superior Court in Hartford.
Disclosure of abuse often comes in steps, Montelli testified in response to questions from prosecutor Anthony Bochicchio. “It happens over time,” she said. “It’s a process.”

And children who have been abused display a variety of behaviors, which can include lying and misbehaving.

The young man accusing Wirth of sexual and physical abuse has changed his story several times, and his accusations also have evolved.

Montelli’s testimony was intended to rebut defense charges that the accuser cannot be believed.

Children who have suffered sexual abuse often delay telling someone about it because they are embarrassed, fear they won’t be believed, are threatened or coerced into keeping quiet, and often have a close relationship with their abuser, she said.

Wirth’s defense attorney, Michael Dwyer, asked Montelli if she had any knowledge of the allegations against Wirth or the history of his accuser. She said she did not.
Dwyer presented two witnesses for the defense. Ron King, who was a former neighbor of Wirth and his former husband, George Harasz, and Jackie Paradis, Harasz’s biological daughter. Wirth and Harasz, who will be tried separately, adopted nine boys from three sibling groups through DCF.

Both defense witnesses said they did not witness any sort of abuse of the boys or see signs of abuse on the boys.

King said that his home shared a driveway with Wirth and Harasz’s home and that he had regular contact with the family and was often inside the home. “I never sensed anything abnormal,” he testified.

Paradis said she visited the Wirth/Harasz home every other weekend and spent time there during school vacations. She said saw no abuse or signs of abuse.

She also testified about the “daddy trap,” during which Harasz would hold children tight and tickle them while the children struggled to escape. The son accusing both men of abuse says he was sexually assaulted during the daddy trap.

“He used to do it to me when I was little,” Paradis testified. “He would tickle us. … It was just playful. It was a lot of fun.”

On cross-examination, Bochicchio got King to acknowledge that his view of the Wirth/Harasz house was limited by a large barn that blocked his view of much of the property, and that when he visited the home he was usually on the main floor. He also acknowledged that he had little contact with the son who is accusing the men of abuse.”

Prosecution Rests In Glastonbury Abuse Trial[The Hartford Courant 9/16/14 by David Owens]

“Defense witnesses told a Hartford Superior Court judge Wednesday that the 19-year-old man accusing Douglas Wirth of sexual assault and other crimes has a history of telling lies and fabricating stories about sexual abuse.

Wirth, 46, and his former husband, George Harasz, 51, are accused of sexually assaulting some of the nine boys from three sibling groups the adopted through the state Department of Children and Families between 2001 and 2011.

Wirth, formerly of Glastonbury, is on trial on charges that he assaulted one of the boys.

On Wednesday, a pediatrician, a psychologist and a social worker offered testimony that seemed to undermine the accusations. Judge Julia D. Dewey is hearing the evidence and will determine whether prosecutors have proved their case against Wirth.

Dr. Candra Smith-Slatas, a Wethersfield pediatrician who treated the accuser and examined a scar he claimed was caused by a box cutter during a sexual assault, testified that the scar was not caused by an assault, but was a stretch mark commonly found on adolescents during periods of rapid growth.

She further testified that during the 10 years she had the accuser as her patient, she saw no signs of abuse and that he never reported any kind of abuse.

A clinical psychologist hired by the state Department of Children and Families testified that the accuser has a history of telling stories. Being a pathological liar “appears to be one of the primary behaviors he has been exhibiting,” Suzanne Ciaramella of Chaplin testified, adding that the accuser seemed to be in “heavy denial” of his “story-telling condition.

Carolyn Goodridge, a social worker who used to work for the agency that placed the nine boys from DCF with Wirth and Harasz, testified that the men were interested in adopting boys and girls, and were up to the challenge of adopting children with mental health and behavioral issues.

The accuser, she added, had at one time made accusations of sexual abuse against a DCF worker and a probate judge.

Goodridge, while being questioned by defense attorney Michael Dwyer, said she had cautioned Wirth and Harasz not to leave the accuser alone with other children, and for them to be cautious about being alone with him because of his previous accusations of sexual assault.

On cross-examination, prosecutor Anthony Bochicchio worked to undermine the testimony by questioning Goodridge about the compensation the firm she worked for at the time, Downey Side Adoption Agency, received from the state for placing children from DCF with families.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Tanaka asked Smith-Slatas about a letter she had written on behalf of Wirth and Harasz earlier in the prosecution and before her examination of the accuser’s scars. Tanaka asked if the letter strongly supported Wirth, and Smith-Slatas agreed that it did, and that she had taken a position supporting Wirth and Harasz.

The final witness of the day, the accuser’s brother, testified that he did well with Wirth and Harasz as his parents. Both men had rules he and his siblings had to follow and when they followed the rules, they were rewarded with privileges and greater freedom, the brother testified. His three biological brothers, including the accuser, chafed under the rules Wirth and Harasz set, he said.

He also testified that the only evidence of sexual assault he ever saw or heard in the house was an allegation that the accuser kissed one of his younger brothers and then told him not to say anything about it.

The charges against Wirth include first-degree sexual assault, four counts of third-degree sexual assault, risk of injury to a minor and two counts of illicit sexual contact with a minor.”

Witnesses Testify Accuser Had History Of Lying[The Hartford Courant 9/17/14 by David Owens]

Update 17: Doug Wirth found not guilty

” Superior Court judge found a former Glastonbury man not guilty Monday of physically and sexually abusing one of the sons that he and his former husband adopted through the state Department of Children and Families.

Judge Julia D. Dewey said the evidence against Douglas Wirth was simply not believable.

“Not guilty of all charges,” the judge said after summarizing her findings.

The trial was based on the charges brought by one son, who is now 19. Wirth, 46, and his former husband, George Harasz, 51, were accused of sexually and physically abusing him over several years. He was one of nine boys they adopted through the state Department of Children and Families.

Harasz is scheduled to go to trial in late October.

The accuser’s long history of lying — a therapist described him as a pathological liar — undermined the state’s charges.

“The [Glastonbury] police investigation in this case was initiated after [a] statement by the primary complainant,” Dewey said. “His credibility was critical. Even a cursory examination would have revealed the fact that his credibility was already suspect. After the investigation began, he continued to lie about several factors, some significant and some inconsequential.”

Because Wirth opted for a court trial, in which Dewey and not a jury evaluated the evidence and rendered a verdict, the judge said she evaluated each witness just as a jury would have done.

“The fabrications, the inconsistencies, the omissions went to the heart of the allegations in this case,” Dewey said. “The complainant’s testimony was more than simply forgetting things.”

The accuser’s claims of abuse “fluctuated dramatically from the first account to the last,” Dewey said. “The evidence in this case reveals multiple accusations throughout the years.”

And although victims of sexual abuse often take a long time to fully disclose the crimes against them, in the Wirth case “the complainant’s disclosure was more opportunistic than therapeutic,” Dewey said. “Something happened to this complainant, but there is no credible testimony that links [Wirth] to any of the criminal sexual acts alleged by the state.”

As to the allegations of physical abuse, the evidence was just as thin. Dewey said that she disagreed with some of the disciplinary methods that Harasz was alleged to have used, but that they were not criminal.

Indeed, DCF was aware of many of the allegations, yet did not sustain any of the complainants’ earlier complaints,” Dewey said. “Given the brigade of social workers, educators, [DCF] personnel and medical providers who provided intense services to the complainant and his siblings, it is inconceivable that not one of these disinterested persons saw any signs of physical abuse.”

Dewey also criticized DCF and others for their failure to comply with court orders to release all documents related to the case. Prosecutors, she added, were under the impression that they had already received all documents.

“The litigants prepared under the misapprehension that they were in possession of all relevant government and medical records,” Dewey said. Instead, on the eve of the trial, DCF delivered 10,000 to 12,000 pages of documents to Dewey for review. She turned over about 2,000 pages of those documents to the lawyers.

But that wasn’t the end of the trickle of documents related to the case, the judge said.

“Most incredibly, the pre-adoption history of the complainant and his siblings had never been made available to either counsel,” Dewey said. “The state never should have proceeded to trial without this material. This comment bears repeating. Before this trial began, none of the counsel has seen the pre-adoption records. These records contained extraordinarily exculpatory information.”

Prosecutors also did not see “all of the critical narrative summaries prepared by DCF workers who testified as prosecution witnesses,” the judge said. “The state had an obligation to secure and review all relevant material before it began the criminal process. The glaring absence of these records should have alerted the prosecution that something was amiss.”

In a statement released through a spokesman, DCF Commissioner Joette Katz did not address the agency’s failure to release documents related to the case. She did say she was disappointed in the verdict.