How Could You? Hall of Shame-Eric and Angela Corcoran 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 Livingston County, Michigan, adoptive parents Eric Corcoran and Angela Corcoran, both 43, “are charged with second-degree child abuse” for having been “accused of mentally and emotionally abusing their 16-year-old adopted son by isolating him from the rest of the family, forcing him to live alone in the uninhabitable basement and even feeding him different food to their biological children.”

“The pair, both 43, are accused of years of abuse, beginning when the teen was aged 12 and they forced him to eat different meals than the family and only being allowed to ‘sit in corner of one room of the main home.’

Angie Corcoran is accusing of slapping the teen’s legs while he slept as well as hitting him with a a hanger, which broke.

Eric Corcoran, admitted to protective services that the door separating the basement from the main level of the home is locked so the teen can not access the home.

He said that the boy, who can not be named for legal reasons, uses the camper toilet when no one else is home, according to court documents.

The teen’s room in the basement was sparse according to a CPS worker.

It had a twin bed, but no sheets, blankets or pillows despite the basement being ‘colder than the rest of the house.’

Protective services noted the boy’s meals were left on the top of the stairs for him, court documents alleged.

The teen, who is now in foster care, was so lonely he even created a family for himself using stuffed animals.

He told protective services that his brother punched him and his sister threatened him with a gun, according to court documents.

Eric Corcoran told protective services that his then-adopted son lashes out at people and steals things throughout the house, court records show.”
Couple ‘isolated their adopted son, made him stay in the basement and fed him different food… leading him to create a new family out of stuffed animals’[Daily Mail 3/18/15 by Jill Reilly]

“”I just live my life in the basement,” the teen told a worker with the Michigan Department of Human Services’ Child Protective Services, according to court documents.

Christopher Nalley, who has been court-appointed to represent the 16-year-old, declined to comment about the nature of the case. However, he said he “supports” DHS’ decision to remove the teen from the family home. The teen is now in foster care.

Bob Wheaton, a DHS public information officer, has said the department does not comment on neglect/abuse cases and would not release information on when or how protective services was notified of the alleged abuse.

According to court documents, protective services investigated allegations in May 2010, September 2011, May 2012 and February.

The allegations included that at age 12 the child was “being isolated,” which included being forced to eat different meals than the family and being allowed to only “sit in corner of one room of the main home.”

There are allegations Angie Corcoran “slapped” her adopted son’s legs while he napped and that she struck him with a hanger, which broke, and that she held her adopted son on the floor with her foot. A CPS worker noted that Angie Corcoran “was not loving” toward her adopted son, who had no toys or decorations in his bedroom, according to court documents.

Protective services also noted that the matriarch, who had expressed a desire to dissolve the adoption, admitted that the family kept the door between the main living area and the basement locked. The family matriarch told protective services her then-adopted son can access the basement through an entry door, but he could not access the main living area until someone from the family gave him access, according to court documents.

In February, protective services again investigated allegations that the teen, now 16, was locked in his bedroom and rarely had interaction with the family. Protective services noted the boy’s meals were left on the top stair and he was forced to eat alone in his bedroom as well as forced to urinate and defecate in a camper toilet placed in his living area, court documents alleged.

The protective services worker also noted that the teen’s bedroom had a twin bed, but no sheets, blankets or pillows despite the basement being “colder than the rest of the house.”

The family patriarch, Eric Corcoran, admitted to protective services that the door separating the basement from the main level of the home is locked and that the boy uses the camper toilet when no one else is home, according to court documents. The patriarch told protective services that his then-adopted son lashes out at people and steals things throughout the house, court records show.

Protective services workers noted that the teen indicated his adopted mother “tried to give him” to another woman, but that woman was too poor and could not take him. He also told protective services that his brother punched him in the gut and his sister held a shotgun to his face while yelling at him to leave the home, according to court documents.

The couple’s then 14-year-old biological daughter told protective services that her adopted brother ruins the “silence and peace within the family” and that he ruined his relationship with the family when he killed the family’s cat, court documents stated.

“I just want a loving family” who “will hug and kiss me,” the teen said according to court documents.”

Couple charged with abusing teen locked in basement[Detroit Free Press 3/17/15 by Lisa Roose-Church]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

 

Update: “A trial date has been set for a Deerfield Township couple accused of felony child abuse. Eric and Angela Corcoran are charged with 2nd degree child abuse following accusations their 16-year-old adopted son was mentally and emotionally abused from a period beginning in 2012, up until February of this year. He has since been placed in foster care. Following a hearing in May in which District Court Judge Carol Sue Reader determined there was enough evidence to bind the case over to Livingston County Circuit Court, records now show that the couple will go to trial August 10th. Officials say the 43-year-olds isolated the boy in the basement of the family’s Bennett Lake Road home. They say Child Protective Service workers were told the boy ate and slept alone in the basement, only could get access to the main living area of the home from other family members, and was forced to go to the bathroom in a camper toilet. Inspectors indicated his bed consisted of a dirty mattress with no sheets, blanket, or pillow. He further alleged the couple’s two biological children also mistreated him and reportedly told CPS workers he just wanted a loving family.”

\Trial Date Set For Deerfield Couple Charged With Abusing Adopted Son[WHMI 6/27/15]

Update 2:”The trial date for a Deerfield Township couple accused of felony child abuse has been pushed out to January. Eric and Angela Corcoran are charged with 2nd degree child abuse following accusations their 16-year-old adopted son was mentally and emotionally abused from a period beginning in 2012, up until February of this year. He has since been placed in foster care. Court records show a pre-trial is scheduled November 19th in Livingston County Circuit Court, at which time two defense motions are also expected to be heard. The first is a motion to quash the defendant’s bind over for trial. It is being questioned whether the examining magistrate abused her discretion in binding the defendant over as the defense contends no credible evidence was introduced. The other motion is a request for a bill of particulars. The bill of particulars would need to describe essential facts of the alleged offense as the defendant claims there is a lack of notice for what conduct was illegal and when that conduct occurred.

Officials say the 43-year-olds isolated the boy in the basement of the family’s Bennett Lake Road home. They say Child Protective Service workers were told the boy ate and slept alone in the basement, only could get access to the main living area of the home from other family members, and was forced to go to the bathroom in a camper toilet. Inspectors indicated his bed consisted of a dirty mattress with no sheets, blanket, or pillow. He further alleged the couple’s two biological children also mistreated him and reportedly told CPS workers he just wanted a loving family. Eric and Angela Corcoran head to trial January 11th, unless a plea deal can be reached earlier in the case. A status conference has been adjourned to January 8th when motions and ongoing negotiations will be heard.”

Trial Delayed For Deerfield Couple Charged With Abusing Adopted Son[WHMI 10/23/15]

Update 3:“A Livingston County jury has convicted a Deerfield Township couple of child abuse for isolating their adopted son in the family’s basement.

Eric Corcoran and his wife, Angela Corcoran, were each convicted as charged of second-degree child abuse. They face up to 10 years in prison each when they are sentenced July 28.

“I am very pleased with the guilty verdicts handed down by the jury (Monday),” Prosecutor William Vailliencourt said. “The acts that these two defendants committed against this child were both cruel and outrageous.

“This was clearly child abuse, and I’m grateful that the jury sent a message that such behavior toward children will not be tolerated,” he added.

Messages to defense attorneys were not returned Tuesday.

During the four-day trial, the Corcoran couple’s adopted son, Justin Corcoran, testified that he wanted a “family,” but instead he was isolated in the basement of the family’s Bennett Lake Road home between the ages of 12 and 15 because he made “lots of noise” while playing with toys in the early morning and his eating habits were “repulsive.” During testimony, Justin Corcoran, now 17, identified himself as having attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and borderline personality disorder.

Justin Corcoran also testified that he was not allowed upstairs unless someone was home with him and that his bathroom facilities in the basement consisted of the use of a camper toilet.

A former Livingston County sheriff’s deputy testified that he and a state social worker found the camper toilet outside in February 2015 and that it was contained frozen liquid feces, which also was around the outside of the home.

A social worker with the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services Child Protective Services, testified that Justin Corcoran, who is currently in foster care, was “treated very differently” than the Corcoran couple’s biological children, who had their own bedrooms with a full bath.”

Jury: Couple guilty of child abuse for isolating son[Livingston Daily 6/28/16 by Lisa Roose-Church]