How Could You? Hall of Shame-Delshawn Renee Little caseUPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Kearns, Utah, foster mother Delshawn Renee Little,31, “was charged in 3rd District Court on Thursday with four counts of rape and two counts of forcible sodomy, first-degree felonies. She was also charged with lewdness, a misdemeanor. Millana LeBrea Jennesse, 35, was charged with four counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old, a third-degree felony.

One of Little’s foster sons said he had sex with his foster mother on three occasions between June and September at their Kearns home, according to the charges. In July, Little also asked him to film her and her boyfriend having sex, the charges state.

On a separate occasion, the teenager and his foster brother went into Little’s bedroom, where their foster mother and Jennesse were, and the four engaged in sexual activity, the charges add.”

 

Two women accused of having sex with foster teens

[The Salt Lake Tribune 10/11/12 by Michael McFall]

Delshawn was “charged with seven counts of sexual abuse involving her two teenage foster sons. ”

“The charges against Delshawn Renee Little, 32, include rape, forcible sodomy, and lewdness. The charging documents allege the abuse happened at Little’s home in Kearns over the summer with the 17 year old boys. ”

“Little is booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on a 150-thousand dollar bond.

The Utah Divison of Child and Family Services says they will aid police in the investigation. ”

Kearns foster mother charged with sex abuse against teen foster sons

[ABC4 10/13/12 by Jonelle Merrill]

Woman charged with having sex with teens in foster care

[KSL 10/13/12 by McKenzie Romero]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: “A Salt Lake County woman accused of having sex with two of her teenage foster sons was sentenced Monday to three years’ probation, during which time she was ordered to stay away from children — including her own.

In a plea deal with prosecutors that spared her what could have been a life sentence, Delshawn Renee Little, 32, pleaded guilty in 3rd District Court to two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Judge Denise Lindberg chided Little as she handed down the woman’s sentence Monday morning.

“You abused a position of trust,” Lindberg said, “at least twice.”

Prosecutors said the plea deal came about, in part, because the victims, two 17-year-old boys, did not want to testify in court. They expressed concerns for Little’s children, who the victims feared would end up in foster care if their mother was sent to prison.

Lindberg said she took these fears into consideration in determining Little’s sentence, but cautioned Little that probation should not be mistaken for lenience.

“This concession is being done out of recognition of the concerns expressed by the victims,” Lindberg said. “But I’m not going to run the risk that she’s going to turn around and victimize more children.”

Lindberg imposed a zero-tolerance probation, which means should Little violate any terms of the agreement, she will be sent to prison.

Among those terms: Little was ordered not to have unsupervised contact with minors — including her own two young children. She also must serve 150 hours of community service, refrain from using drugs or alcohol, submit to random testing and undergo a psychosexual evaluation and treatment.

According to charging documents, Little and another woman had sexual contact with the 17-year-old boys during Little’s time as their foster mother.

Little was originally charged with four counts of rape and two counts of forcible sodomy, first-degree felonies. She was also charged with lewdness, a misdemeanor.

The other woman, Millana LeBrea Jennesse, 35, was charged with four counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old, a third-degree felony. Jennesse has pleaded not guilty to all charges, but court documents indicate she is likely to change her plea during a hearing April 29.

One of Little’s foster sons told prosecutors he had sex with his foster mother on three occasions between June and September 2012 at their Kearns home. In July, Little also asked him to film her and her boyfriend having sex, charges state.

On a separate occasion, the teenager and his foster brother went into Little’s bedroom, where they engaged in sexual activity with Little and Jennesse, according to the documents.

Little, who appeared Monday in a yellow jumpsuit with her hands cuffed behind her back, stuttered through an apology.

“I just want to say that I’m sorry,” said Little, as she began to cry. “I’m sorry.”

Little has been in custody for nearly 180 days. Her probation will begin Friday.”

Utah mom accused of having sex with teen foster sons gets probation

[The Salt Lake Tribune 4/8/13 by Marissa Lang]

Update 2: “Salt Lake County prosecutors dropped all charges against a 35-year-old woman on Tuesday, just hours before she was set to face a jury for allegedly having sex with her friend’s two teenage foster sons.

Millana LeBrea Jennessee was charged in 3rd District Court with four counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old, a third-degree felony. Had she been convicted, she could have faced up to 20 years in the Utah State Prison.

But prosecutors asked Judge Denise Lindberg to throw out the case after several “material witnesses” refused to cooperate. Two refused to testify and a third, who was not identified, was in Texas at the time of the trial and “his exact location is unknown,” according to court documents.

The charges against Jennessee were dismissed without prejudice, which means they could be refiled in the future if circumstances change.

Jennessee’s defense attorney, Cara Tangaro, said her client has maintained her innocence from the start of this case and “was not willing to resolve this case for anything less than a dismissal.” Jennessee pleaded not guilty to all charges in February.

It was not explicitly clear whether the uncooperative witnesses were also the two 17-year-old victims in this case, but three months ago, the teens also balked at the prospect of testifying against their foster mother, Delshawn Renee Little.

Little, 32, is serving three years of strict probation during which she was ordered to stay away from all children, including her own.

Her probation began in April after she entered into a plea deal with prosecutors that spared her what could have been a life sentence. Little pleaded guilty to two counts of forcible sexual abuse, second-degree felonies each punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

At the time, prosecutors said the plea deal came about, in part, because the 17-year-old victims did not want to testify in open court before a judge or jury.

According to charging documents, one of Little’s foster sons told authorities he had sex with his foster mother on three occasions between June and September 2012 at their Kearns home.

The charges also allege that last July, Little asked the teen to film her and her boyfriend having sex.

On another occasion, the documents state, the teenager and his foster brother went into Little’s bedroom, where they allegedly engaged in sex acts with Little and Jennessee.

Tangaro said Jennessee and Little were acquaintances at the time of the alleged crime, but denied Jennessee had any sexual contact with Little’s teen foster sons.

“We were prepared for trial and felt that we would expose some huge weaknesses in the State’s case,” Tangaro said. “Millana is glad that this is over and wishes to move on with her life.””

Charges dropped against woman accused of sex with friend’s foster sons

[The Salt Lake Tribune 7/30/13 by Marissa Lang]