How Could You? Hall of Shame-Carnell Williams 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 Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, foster father Carnell Williams, 46, “is facing jail time for four abusing children under his care and having them live in what Abington police described as deplorable living conditions over the course of four years.”

He “was found guilty of simple assault and four felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child in a bench trial Tuesday in front of common pleas Judge Garrett Page.

 

Williams was released on $50,000 bail until sentencing, which, according to online court documents, is scheduled for Aug. 29.[Say what?]

 

Prosecuting attorney Kathleen Colgan said she will be seeking a lengthy jail sentence for the man who had four children live in what Judge Carpenter called a “house of horrors.”

 

Colgan explained the four children, who lived in the home, were biological siblings and Williams was at first their foster parent and at some point became their legal guardian.

 

“That’s what makes this case even more egregious because at some point he was being paid to care for these children,” Colgan said.

 

Williams would often abuse the children physically and emotionally and they were not given proper nourishment over the course of four years the children were living with him, Colgan alleged.

 

An investigation began on Dec. 5, 2012 when an Abington police officer met with a boy at the Willow Grove Mall after he called police, saying his legal guardian punched him in the face.

 

When police examined the victim’s eye, they noted it was red and swollen, according to the affidavit of probable cause. He told police that he had been living with Williams for the past four years with his younger brothers and sister. He said Williams was angry because of a missing video game from his room. The victim told police the confrontation escalated and then Williams hit him.

 

Police brought the victim back to his home, and when they arrived Williams came outside and began yelling about the video game and said he did not want to care for the children anymore.

 

According to the affidavit, police entered the home and observed “deplorable living conditions.” The home also had an “offensive odor consistent with active mold.”

 

Police spoke with the other three children in the home, ages 12, 10 and 7, who said that they are often instructed by Williams to make their own food and that they usually did not have anything but cold sandwiches to eat for weeks at a time.

 

The responding officer further inspected the home and did not find any food in the refrigerator, noting that the food that in there did not offer “any balanced sustenance.” Police reported that the children had complained they had not been fed that evening.

 

“It was my immediate assessment that the health, safety, and welfare of the children would be compromised if they continued to reside in such deplorable conditions,” the responding officer wrote in the affidavit.

 

After further speaking with the children, police learned Williams would often leave the seven and the 10-year-old along for extended periods of time. Police also learned about abuse the children suffered. The 12 year old girl had a raised scar on her shoulder from an incident when Williams became angry with her and threw her into the side of a rusty radiator. According to the affidavit of probable cause the girl was not taken to the hospital.

 

Shortly after the home inspection, Williams was taken into custody without incident.”

Willow Grove man convicted of abuse of foster children[The Times-Herald 5/9/14 by Dan Clark]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: ” A Willow Grove man is facing jail time for abusing four children under his care and having them live in what Abington police described as deplorable living conditions over the course of four years.

Carnell Williams, 46, …was found guilty of simple assault and four felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child in a bench trial May 8 in front of Common Pleas Judge Garrett Page.

Williams was released on $50,000 bail until sentencing, which, according to online court documents, is scheduled for Aug. 29.

Prosecuting attorney Kathleen Colgan said she will be seeking a lengthy jail sentence for the man who had four children live in what Page called a “house of horrors.”

Colgan explained the four children, who lived in the home, were biological siblings and Williams was at first their foster parent and at some point became their legal guardian.

“That’s what makes this case even more egregious because at some point he was being paid to care for these children,” Colgan said.

Williams would often abuse the children physically and emotionally, and they were not given proper nourishment over the course of four years the children were living with him, Colgan alleged.

An investigation began on Dec. 5, 2012, when an Abington police officer met with a boy at the Willow Grove Park mall after he called police, saying his legal guardian punched him in the face.

When police examined the victim’s eye, they noted it was red and swollen, according to the affidavit of probable cause. He told police that he had been living with Williams for the past four years with his younger brothers and sister. He said Williams was angry because of a missing video game from his room. The victim told police the confrontation escalated and then Williams hit him.

Police brought the victim back to his home, and when they arrived Williams came outside and began yelling about the video game and said he did not want to care for the children anymore.

According to the affidavit, police entered the home and observed “deplorable living conditions.” The home also had an “offensive odor consistent with active mold.”

Police spoke with the other three children in the home, ages 12, 10 and 7, who said that they were often instructed by Williams to make their own food and that they usually did not have anything but cold sandwiches to eat for weeks at a time.

The responding officer further inspected the home and did not find any food in the refrigerator, noting that the food that was in there did not offer “any balanced sustenance.” Police reported that the children had complained they had not been fed that evening.

“It was my immediate assessment that the health, safety and welfare of the children would be compromised if they continued to reside in such deplorable conditions,” the responding officer wrote in the affidavit.

After further speaking with the children, police learned Williams would often leave the 7- and the 10-year-old alone for extended periods of time. Police also learned about abuse the children suffered. The 12-year-old girl had a raised scar on her shoulder from an incident when Williams became angry with her and threw her into the side of a rusty radiator. According to the affidavit of probable cause, the girl was not taken to the hospital.

Shortly after the home inspection, Williams was taken into custody without incident.”

Willow Grove man convicted of abusing foster children[Montgomery News 5/14/15 by Dan Clark]

Update 2: A search of Pennsylvania court records shows that he received:

Guilty of Endangering Welfare of Children – Parent/Guardian/Other Commits Offense: Min of 9.00 Months Max of 23.00 Months and 3 years Probation.

Guilty of Endangering Welfare of Children – Parent/Guardian/Other Commits Offense: Min of 9.00 Months Max of 23.00 Months

Guilty of Endangering Welfare of Children – Parent/Guardian/Other Commits Offense: Min of 9.00 Months Max of 23.00 Months

Guilty of / Endangering Welfare of Children – Parent/Guardian/Other Commits Offense: 5 years imprisonment