How Could You? Hall of Shame-Stephen Parsons

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 Felton , Delaware, adoptive  parent Stephen Parsons,26, ” will serve 44 years in prison for child pornography and the first degree rape and sexual exploitation of his foster son.”

“Kent County Superior Court Judge Robert Young handed down the sentence for Stephen Parsons, 26, on Tuesday morning. For just a sentencing hearing, there was enough testimony to visibly upset Parsons’ family, and make the court so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

“This is one of the worst cases that we’ve seen,” says Abigail Rodgers-Layton, commander of the Child Predator Task force for the Delaware Attorney General’s Office, and prosecutor of Parsons. “He is the person the predator task force was designed to capture and put in jail.”

Parsons adopted the victim back in 2011 when he was only seven years old. Rodgers-Layton says when Parsons was presented as a potential adoptive resource to his team, they had no knowledge about his child pornography videos, only that he was a single, 23-year-old, who wanted to adopt a young male child and was open to a child with disabilities.

During the sentencing, Kelly Ensslin, Deputy Child Advocate for Delaware, read a four page document as to why Parsons should receive the maximum sentence. She went into detail of his adoption, saying that Parson was “privy to information about the victim’s history and medical/development history.”

According to Ensslin, the victim was born with Cerebral Palsy and was diagnosed with failure to thrive as an infant. He entered foster care in 2007 because both his birth parents were convicted of sexual offenses against his sister. She says there was suspicion that the victim was also sexually abused, however given his young age and developmental delays, he was unable to communicate to confirm any suspicion. Ensslin says Parsons picked the “perfect victim.”

“The vulnerability of this victim is unmatched it’s just devastating and heartbreaking that poor kid couldn’t be protected from this man,” says Rodgers-Layton.

Parsons was arrested in March after an online undercover investigation found multiple images of child pornography on his computer. That investigation eventually turned into finding hundreds of videos, and finding out that Parsons was abusing his adopted son.

Ensslin says the victim now was a wonderful foster family, and is a rambunctious and loveable 10-yaer-old boy who likes super heroes in matchbox cars. However, his mother says the victim will have frequent meltdowns during bath time and is prone to make himself vomit when he is upset or frustrated.

“There are so many of the victim’s behaviors that make us wonder if it’s because of the abuse he suffered, but for the most part, we will never know,” says Ensslin.

Jail time was inevitable for Parsons on Tuesday, with a mandatory minimum sentence of 21 years. His attorney argued that Parsons’ otherwise clear record and remorse, not only because of potential jail time, but for what he did, should keep his sentence near the minimum.

However, that was not enough for Judge Young, and prosecutors hope it proves what the Delaware Child Predator Task Force is capable of.

“People just think we are looking for people who are dealing in images, but the truth is people who are collecting and distributing in child pornography are doing so because they have an interest, a sexual interest in children,” says Rodgers-Layton. “Those people are also committing contact offenses which is why it’s so critically important to get those guys before they make contact with a kid.””

 

UPDATE: Felton Man Sentenced For Abuse Of Young Foster Son[WMDT 11/3/14 by Kelly Rule]

REFORM Puzzle Piece