How Could You? Hall of Shame-Karen S. Tolin and Timothy E. Tolin 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.

PoundPup Legacy

From Paris Township,Michigan,adoptive parents Karen S. Tolin, 65, and Timothy E. Tolin, 66 “were arraigned on charges of unlawful imprisonment and abuse after police found a 19-year-old “mentally disabled” man in a cage that was chained shut inside a Huron County bedroom.”

Karen S. Tolin, 65, and Timothy E. Tolin, 66, both occupants of the house where the teen was found, were arraigned in Huron County District Court Tuesday, Oct. 28. Each is charged with a single count of unlawful imprisonment, a 15-year felony, and third-degree vulnerable adult abuse, a high court 2-year misdemeanor.

Both are free on $5,000 or 10 percent bonds, court officials said.

Police responded to investigate a civil dispute about 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20, to a home …r, when they discovered the mentally challenged male teen in a caged bed with the door chained shut, the Huron County Sheriff’s Department said in a prepared statement.

The two suspects were arrested on the charges authorized by Huron County Prosecutor Tim Rutkowski.

When a deputy responded, upon speaking with parties involved, permission was granted for a deputy to enter one of the bedrooms, where he found the 19-year-old in the cage.

The Associated Press reports the teen has autism.

At approximately 10 p.m. Oct. 20, two adults were removed from the home, and court action the following day ordered one more adult removed, police said.

Further court action on Friday, Oct. 25, ordered the final two children removed from the home. Two deputies from the sheriff’s office also assisted on Friday evening, police said.

The sheriff’s department contacted the Michigan Department of Human Services emergency center and personnel were dispatched to the scene.

DHS said its adult protective services office is investigating. Spokesman Bob Wheaton said the home is a private residence, not a licensed care facility, the AP reports.

Paris Township is in Michigan’s Thumb, about 90 miles north of Detroit. ”

Two arraigned on charges after teen found in cage in Michigan’s Thumb[M Live 10/28/14 by Brad Devereaux]

“A husband and wife face a felony charge after their adopted 19-year-old son was found inside a cage in “extremely unsanitary” conditions, Huron County Sheriff Kelly Hanson reports. “

“Each is charged with a single count of unlawful imprisonment, a 15-year felony, and third-degree vulnerable adult abuse, a high court 2-year misdemeanor.

Both are free on $5,000 or 10 percent bonds, court officials said”

“”The odor was very noticeable as the deputy began to climb the stairs,” Hanson said.

Huron County Prosecutor Timothy Rutkowski said the teen was found naked in the cage with feces and urine around him, based on his review of the police report. The 19-year-old has a developmental disability called Angelman syndrome, Rutkowski said, reading from the report.

When the deputy saw the scene, the sheriff’s department immediately contacted the Michigan Department of Human Services.

“There was no doubt in the deputy’s mind that something was wrong,” Hanson said.

“Whether the parents felt they had done anything wrong or not, the individual was being confined under unsanitary conditions,” Hanson said. “DHS agreed something was wrong and orchestrated the removal. It just wasn’t us making the decision.”

He said the sheriff’s department is not releasing the police report at this time.

Hanson said he believes a total of nine people lived there; six adopted people including both minors and adults, an acquaintance of one of the adopted people, and the two people who were arrested. The adopted people were all given different placement, he said.

“It’s not a situation that’s being blown out of proportion,” he said. “We were concerned about the health and safety of all involved.”

He could not say in what conditions the other people were living.

The call was a rare one for the Huron County Sheriff’s Department.

“This is something that police agencies, at least this one, doesn’t see hardly at all,” he said. “Granted that there were special needs individuals living at this home and what it takes for them, the conditions may not be what people are normally used to, but we enlisted help from DHS.”

He added, “They confirmed this is not how this is to be done.”

The Tolin couple was arrested Monday, Oct. 27, on the charges authorized by Prosecutor Rutkowski.

Sheriff’s investigators returned to the home Tuesday, Oct. 28, to continue investigating.

“This is a circumstance that in my 20 years I’ve never run across in our community,” Rutkowski said. “It’s a small farming community. You don’t expect something to happen here that is alleged by police in their investigation.

“These people that have special needs rely on being protected by the rest of us,” he said. “From what is being alleged, that didn’t happen.”

The same couple was involved in a 2010 complaint of educational neglect that was resolved with a stipulated order that a third-party attorney visit the home four times for the first year and twice a year in the following years, in some announced visits and some unannounced visits, to check in with the couple, Rutkowski said.

The attorney was required to submit reports to the prosecutor’s office and to the school district and DHS, Rutkowski said, adding that his office never received a report.

DHS said its adult protective services office is investigating. Spokesman Bob Wheaton said the home is a private residence, not a licensed care facility, the AP reports.

Paris Township is in Michigan’s Thumb, about 90 miles north of Detroit.”

Michigan couple charged after adopted son found in cage in ‘extremely unsanitary’ conditions[M Live 10/28/14 by Brad Devereaux]

“The adoptive parents of several mentally and physically disabled youths were arrested on warrants requested after a sheriff’s deputy discovered they kept their legally blind and non-verbal son locked in a caged bed.

Timothy Tolin, 66, and Karen “Sue” Tolin, 65, were arraigned Tuesday in Huron County District Court on charges of unlawful imprisonment, a 15-year felony charge, and vulnerable adult abuse-third degree, a high-court two-year misdemeanor. The Tolins were each released on a bond of $5,000, which was set by Huron County District Judge David Herrington.”

“After speaking with the parties involved, Bismack was granted permission to enter one of the bedrooms in the home, where he found the alleged victim.

“(The alleged victim) was found what appeared to be an old fashioned metal hospital crib. There was no mattress, just a board and one blanket inside the enclosure. (He) was found to be completely naked, and the crib was locked closed with a blue bicycle-style lock. The bedroom had an overwhelming stench of urine, and there was a large area of the floor which had urine on it. There was no evidence of clothing or a diaper in the room. (He) was also observed to throw his feces out of his enclosure,” noted a child protective proceedings petition filed Friday in Huron County Family Court.

On Monday, the court granted a request by the Department of Human Services to remove two of the Tolins’s other adopted children, a 14-year-old male who was described as cognitively impaired with an IQ of 46, and a 12-year-old male who is diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy and retinopathy prematurity.”

“Three adults in the Tolins’ care were also removed from the home.

Court records indicate that the Department of Human Services has a history of involvement with the Tolin family.

 

In 2010, the Huron County Intermediate School District and Ubly Community Schools petitioned Huron County Circuit Court Family Division regarding a charge the Tolins educationally abused and neglected seven minor children.

The petition was resolved after the Tolins agreed to allow a third-party monitor to conduct home visits to check on the welfare of the children. Gerald Prill, a Bad Axeattorney, was named as the monitor and was responsible to conduct at least four home visits during the year following the agreement, two of which to be unannounced, and at least two home visits each subsequent year, one of which should be unannounced.

Huron County Prosecutor Timothy J. Rutkowski said in his review of the Tolin’s Family Court file, there were no reports documenting Prill’s visits to the home.

In a prepared statement emailed Tuesday to the Huron County View, Prill stated it would be inappropriate for him to disclose information regarding his meetings or discussions with the Tolin children outside the court.

“My job is to follow the case and report my findings to the court of any issues related to the welfare of minor children. If something is discovered, I would turn that information over to the court or in this case, as a monitor, the parties involved. Though I am tempted and in some ways feel pressured by others to release information, anything related to minor children or even protective adult issues is covered by privacy and privilege. My obligation in this matter is to report findings of any alleged educational neglect of minor children. If I discovered any, it would be reported accordingly. I would do the same if I discovered vulnerable adult abuse. Unfortunately, not every action regarding a child or a vulnerable adult is discovered in a home visit. Further, as it appears that an investigation is ongoing and criminal charges have been filed, I am obligated to follow the law and the rules that apply to me,” Prill wrote.

Rutkowski added that the case is unlike any he’s seen in his experience as a prosecutor.

“This is a terrible circumstance and a tragedy all the way around,” Rutkowski said. “These are the kind of individuals who need to be protected by the rest of us from abuse such as this, because they can’t protect themselves.”

He added that after children are adopted by parents, there is typically no monitoring by the court.

“The only unique facet we have here is this agreement that was signed after the school district filed the educational neglect petition, which assigned a third-party monitor to look out for the children,” Rutkowski said.”

 

Parents arrested for caging son, 19[Huron County View 10/30/14 by Kelly Krager]

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REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update:“A couple accused of keeping their 19-year-old adopted son in a cage at their home in rural eastern Michigan made a plea deal Thursday and face sentencing in March.

Karen and Timothy Tolin each pleaded no contest to a charge of unlawful imprisonment in Huron County District Court, county Prosecutor Timothy J. Rutkowski said. In exchange, prosecutors dropped a charge of vulnerable adult abuse against each of them.

The pleas came one day before Karen Tolin, 65, and Timothy Tolin, 66, were scheduled to go before a judge for a hearing on whether there was enough evidence to send them to trial. They face sentencing March 9 and remain free on bonds of $5,000 each.

The unlawful imprisonment charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

“It’s a sad circumstance all around,” Rutkowski said. “He’s in a situation where he should have been cared for.”

Sheriff Kelly J. Hanson has said a deputy answering a civil dispute call Oct. 20 found the 19-year-old in a bedroom at the home in Paris Township, about 90 miles north of Detroit.

Authorities removed three adults and two children from the home, which the state says was not a licensed care facility.

The 19-year-old is now living in a group home elsewhere in the county and attending school.”

Plea Deal For Couple Accused Of Locking Teen Son With Autism In Cage[Huffington Post 1/8/15 by Associated Press]

Update 2:“A Huron County couple will spend nearly a year in jail after a judge hands down a sentence in an abuse case involving a caged bed.

The judge sentenced Timothy and Karen “Sue” Tolin to 330 days in jail, with credit for two days served.

They also face 24 months on probation, and have to pay a fine.

The judge also told the 66 year olds that they cannot have contact with their 19-year-old adopted son, who is at the center of this abuse case.

The Tolins were charged last October after their son was found in what prosecutors call a “caged bed”. The Tolins’ attorneys say it was their son’s crib.

“Anybody who would look at this device would see that it is one where bars, it’s got a wood floor to it, not mattress, it’s a cage,” said Timothy Rutkowski, the Huron County prosecutor.

The prosecution claims the son was kept in the caged bed for between 18 and 23.5 hours a day.

The defense said that only happened on rare occasions, adding he regularly attended school.

The son in question has Angelmans syndrome, a form of autism. He has the brain function of an 18-month-old.

Investigators were first made aware of the situation when a deputy with the Huron County Sheriff’s Office was called to the Tolin’s Paris Township home for a civil complaint call on Oct. 20.

That call eventually lead to another deputy and a Department of Human Services worker coming to the house around 10 p.m.

In court, the prosecution team talked about a video recording made at that time.

The judge decided to view in behind closed doors, and not in open court.

The prosecution team said it showed the 19 year old in a room with human waste on the floor, adding that the DHS worker had to cover her nose with her shirt because the smell was so bad.

The teen in question was removed from the home that night, and has never returned.

Over the years, the Tolins had five biological children, and adopted 13 others.

The children that remained were also removed from the home that same night.

The 19 year old is now in an adult foster care home, where the prosecution team says he is improving every day.

Before the judge actually handed down the sentence, both sides spent more than two hours arguing about sentencing guidelines. Those guidelines are used by the Michigan Department of Corrections to determine an appropriate sentence.

Before the judge sentenced the 66 year olds, he said they “failed to recognize their limitations” when it came to caring for him.

One of the attorneys for the Tolins said they, “did the best they could”. The other said their, “hearts were in the right place”.

In court, Timothy Tolin admitted they didn’t know when to ask for help.

“We knew all along (our son) would leave us because we could no longer take care of him. But we would hope that it would have been our decision to do so,” he said.

In a statement ready by Karen “Sue” Tolin’s attorney, she expressed her love for her son and wished him, “the best for the rest of his life”.

Karen “Sue” Tolin is battling cancer right now. Arrangements will be made to get her to her chemotherapy treatments while in jail.”

Huron County couple charged with abuse after son found in caged bed[ABC 12 3/18/15 by Rebecca Trylch]