How Could You? Hall of Shame-Steven Orloff and Lawsuit UPDATED
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 Framingham, Massachusetts,former foster father and former special needs director of Stoneham schools Steven Orloff,48, was arrested and accused of preying on hundreds of “teenage girls whom he met on the Internet by posing as a teenager himself and enticing them to engage in sexual acts in online chats while he recorded them on video.” He also “allegedly hid a camera in the bathroom of his home to secretly record two teenage girls that he had a family relationship with as they entered the shower, officials said.
“This was someone who was very manipulative, incredibly so, over a long time, who preyed upon several hundred young girls,” Assistant US Attorney Stacy Belf said in federal court in Boston Tuesday.
Belf asked US Magistrate Judge Jennifer C. Boal to hold Orloff without bail pending his trial. He faces a mandatory minimum 15-year prison sentence, and up to 30 years in prison, on some charges, and Belf called him a danger to the community who would flee if released.allegedly hid a camera in the bathroom of his home to secretly record two teenage girls that he had a family relationship with as they entered the shower, officials said.
Orloff’s lawyer, Hank Brennan, argued that there is no evidence that Orloff would commit any crimes or would flee if released. He said Orloff posted $70,000 bail and has worn an electronic monitoring bracelet since his arrest on state charges last year, and he has been working building homes and paying child support.
Boal said she will decide whether to release Orloff at a later time. During a hearing Tuesday, prosecutors portrayed him as a predator who manipulated teenage girls.
“There were several hundred victims contacted throughout the country, throughout the world,” David DiSanzo, a special agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Unit, testified during a detention hearing Tuesday. He described the girls as ranging in age from 11 to 15.
“They were all minors,” he said.
Investigators were led to Orloff after the parents of a 15-year-old girl in Maine discovered she had taken nude photos of herself on an Apple iPod Touch, a tablet-like device that connects to the Internet. The girl told authorities that she had shared the pictures with unknown people on the Internet, include a person who called himself Jason Jaffe and claimed to be 14 years old. Authorities determined that Jaffe was Orloff.
The girl also told authorities that she had online conversations with Orloff through Skype, in which she undressed for him and engaged in sexual conduct. She never saw him, though, because he claimed his camera was broken, according to court records.
Orloff was charged in state court with posing a child in the nude. Authorities later searched his computer and found more than 200,000 lines of instant messages and chat logs, “as well as substantial online footprint of social media websites” frequented by teenagers, according to court records.
He also had photos of children engaging in sexual acts and a homemade movie of two nude girls he had family relationships with. DiSanzo said the movie was filmed with a camera Orloff hid in a plant in his bathroom.
“You can see a picture of his face as he is setting the camera up,” DiSanzo said.
The Boston Herald reported that the mother of one of the girls, who was a foster child, received a letter from the state Department of Children and Families informing her that a social worker supported allegations that Orloff sexually abused the girl. He has not been charged with any sexual abuse. The letter was included in a civil suit accusing the department of neglect, the Herald reported.
DiSanzo said investigators did not find any evidence that Orloff had any physical contact with any of his alleged victims, and none of the pictures were of students from the Stoneham schools. His job with the school district ended after his arrest.
DiSanzo said that Orloff contacted most of his alleged victims through Skype and, without showing his face, posed as Jaffe and posted a public profile with a photo. Then, he allegedly contacted teenage girls and manipulated them into engaging in sex acts, which he recorded. “He’s professing how he wants to further their relationship,” DiSanzo said. “Ultimately, the end game is the sexual acts.””
Ex-educator in Stoneham allegedly preyed on teens
[The Boston Globe 12/17/13 by Milton J. Valencia ]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update:“A federal judge has ordered an accused sexual predator and former foster father to stay behind bars while his case plays out after authorities accused the one-time school administrator of trying to coax more than 100 girls to perform sex acts online for him.
Magistrate Judge Jennifer C. Boal said authorities have built what appears to be a “strong” case against Steven Orloff, the 48-year-old Framingham man she said is a “danger to the community.”
Prosecutors say Orloff is a “manipulative” predator who posed as a 14-year-old boy online and targeted “several hundred” girls between 11 and 15 years old. Federal authorities said he solicited “over 100, easily” to perform sex acts through Skype, and thus far, they’ve found images of six victims taken from the online chats.
The Herald has reported that the Stoneham school official is also at the center of a lawsuit against the state claiming he abused a foster child in his home. He faces state charges of videotaping his foster daughter with a secretly stashed camera inside a bathroom plant that authorities say was focused on the shower.
The girl is now suing DCF and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, claiming state officials failed in vetting Orloff and doing the proper checks to protect her while she lived in his Framingham home.
An investigator with the state Department of Children and Families also supported allegations of sexual abuse, according to a letter the agency sent the girl’s mother earlier this year that is part of the civil suit.
Orloff’s legal team — which includes James “Whitey” Bulger attorney Hank Brennan — argued he should be kept out of jail, noting he never missed an appearance in state court on related child porn charges. Orloff had no criminal history prior to these cases, according to attorneys and Boal.
But Boal noted Orloff faces a harsh federal sentence — 15 to 30 years if convicted — providing incentive to skip town. She also wrote in her decision that Orloff appears estranged from his family, is divorcing his wife of 17 years and despite claims he started a real estate company nearly a year ago, it’s produced no money.
“(The) weight of the evidence against Orloff appears strong,” Boal wrote in the decision released yesterday. “In light of the nature and scope of the offenses, the potential for a lengthy jail term, and the presumptions of risk of flight and dangerousness applicable to this case, the Court finds that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant as required and the safety of the community.”
Orloff has been held since a Dec. 17 dangerousness hearing. He previously had been released on a combined $70,000 bail from two state cases against him.”
Fed judge orders accused foster dad predator held without bail
[Boston Herald 1/1o/14 by Matt Stout]
Update 2:”A Framingham man, who was facing federal sex charges, died Sunday in an apparent suicide, according to the Essex County Sheriff’s Department.
Steven Orloff, 49, of Framingham died of an “hanging.”
Corrections officers were conducting a count of inmates late Sunday morning, and discovered Orloff was not in his bed, they searched for him, and found him hanging in the shower at 11:45 a.m, reported the Salem Evening News.
Corrections officers tried to save Orloff, reported the newspaper. He was pronounced dead at 12:30 p.m. Monday at Beverly Hospital, according to the Essex County Sheriff’s Department.
Orloff has been at the Essex County Jail in Middleton since December 2013.
The Framingham man was the Stoneham Public Schools director of students services, until placed on leave following his arrest in December 2012. Formerly, he was Arlington Public Schools assistant director of special education.
According to authorities, Orloff began corresponding online with a 15-year-old female from Maine. The defendant told the victim he was a 14-year-old boy and they exchanged photos, though the defendant did not send an actual photo of himself. The victim and the defendant continued to chat online and the victim sent the defendant illicit photos of herself.”
UPDATED: Framingham Man Commits Suicide at Essex County Jail[Framingham Patch 12/15/14 by Susan Petroni]
Here’s a new one– or rather an old one that you apparently don’t have.
http://www.examiner.com/article/up-to-8-people-involved-murder-of-wealthy-florida-couple-byrd-and-melanie-billings
I found this by serendipity, and haven’t researched it further.
What does this have to do with “homestudy”? This does not even “hall-of-shame”-worthy about the foster care system in general. Out of hundreds of girls that this creep recorded, one happened to be in the foster system, which meant that the state, rather than the parent, was advocating for the child as part of the case. The social worker followed up and suggested that sexual abuse may have taken place (a reasonable suspicion) but investigation did not bear this out. Looks like people are doing their job. The creep will go to jail. What’s the problem?
Galit,
Rally records ANY bad outcomes involving adoption or foster care, without prejudice. They don’t all involve APs Behaving Badly.