How Could You? Hall of Shame- David and Kathy Oaks

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 Brockton, Massachusetts,a missing case of foster parents David Oaks and Kathy Oaks of 2013 was brought to light.

“David and Kathy Oaks, the husband and wife facing a litany of child rape and sexual abuse charges, were the foster parents of the child they’re accused of abusing over an eight-year period, according to a report filed by police.
The abuse is alleged to have taken place between 2000 and 2008, from the time the victim was 7 to when he was 14, all while he and his sister were living with the Oaks as a family.
The male victim, now an adult, reported the abuse to Brockton police in June, saying he had attempted suicide multiple times and had been suffering from “recurring nightmares,” the report states.
David Oaks initially denied the allegations, telling police “DSS (now the Department of Children and Families) investigated a couple of times for abuse but he was cleared,” according to the report.
Later, during a police interrogation in July, Oaks, an Easton gas station manager at the time, admitted to having a sexual relationship with the victim, but denied raping him, crying at times throughout the interview, police said.
Oaks told police he also had “a sexual relationship” with the victim’s sister.
Cayenne Isaksen, a spokeswoman for the Department of Children and Families, which oversees the state’s foster care program, said she could not confirm whether the Oaks were investigated by her department.
The department has a rigorous screening process for prospective foster parents that includes fingerprint and background checks, home visits and extensive training, Isaksen said in an email.
“Our top goal is to ensure that all of the children being supported by DCF, whether it is at home or in foster care, are safe and well cared for,” she added.
In addition to annual reassessments and biannual relicensing of foster parents, social workers maintain “regular contact” that is “relatively intensive” during the initial probationary period, according to material provided by the department.
There is no indication in the police reports that social workers or the state fell short of their responsibilities to the victim.
The department was not able to provide figures for the rate of sexual abuse reported within the foster care system or the number of sexual abuse cases reported annually.
On its website, the department notes it receives 75,000 reports of abuse or neglect of a child each year. It does not say how many of those reports are confirmed.
The National Children’s Alliance, which works with victims of child abuse through regional child advocacy centers, rendered services to nearly 6,000 Massachusetts children in 2012.
Seventy-five percent of those cases were sexual abuse cases. In 25 percent of the total abuse cases, the abuser was the parent or stepparent.
The victim in the Oaks’ case said he never reported the sexual abuse because David Oaks, now 40, told him at the time that nobody would believe a 7-year-old, and that if he told he would be “taken away and locked up in a bad place for life,” police state in their report.”
Police: Couple charged in Brockton child rape case were the victim’s foster parents[Wicked Local 12/15/13 by Morgan True]

“A husband and wife from Brockton have been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing two foster children over a period of several years.

Forty-two-year-old David Oaks was sentenced Monday in Superior Court to 15 to 20 years in prison and 10 years of probation upon release. His wife, 36-year-old Kathy Oaks, was sentenced to 13 to 15 years in prison and five years’ probation.

They pleaded guilty to dozens of charges, including rape of a child by force and indecent assault and battery.

The victims, a brother and sister, were placed in the care of the Oakses in 2000 after they were removed from their biological parents’ home because of abuse and neglect.

The male victim was abused from 2000 until 2008 when he was 16.”

Brockton couple sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing foster children[Daily Journal 3/17/15 by Associated Press]

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