How Could You? Hall of Shame-Lazarus Rougier

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 Glasgow, Delaware, foster father Lazarus A. Rougier, 61,”has been charged with years-long sexual abuse of a girl who had been a foster child in his home, New Castle County police said Tuesday.”

He “is being held at Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington, lacking $265,000 cash bail, Officer First Class Tracey Duffy said. He also was ordered to have no contact with the victim or anyone under age 18, she said.

He is charged with two counts of first-degree unlawful sexual contact, continuous sexual abuse of a child and first-degree sexual abuse of a child by a person of trust – all felonies.

Rougier admitted three specific incidents of sexual contact with the girl, including oral sex, according to police court documents obtained Tuesday by The News Journal, but he blamed the girl, saying she initiated all those sexual contacts.

The police court documents say the three incidents Rougier admits occurred on or about Jan. 1, 2008, when the girl was 9 years old, but also that the continuous sexual abuse occurred in 2008-14.

The state approved foster child placement in the home of Rougier and his wife, Earline, in 2004, but stopped placements in 2013 due to “inappropriate discipline,” violating their foster home agreement and state care regulations, said Andrea Wojcik, communications director for the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. She declined to elaborate on the “inappropriate discipline.”

Circumstances of the girl’s placement in the Rougier home are not being released to protect her identity, Duffy said, but she no longer is living there.

Investigators have no evidence of Rougier having sexually molested any other children placed in his home, Duffy said, but if there are other victims, they should call police at (302) 573-2800. Anyone with additional information relevant to the case may provide it at www.nccpd.com, through the police department’s Facebook page, using its smartphone app or through Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) TIP-3333 orwww.tipsubmit.com.

The county police Criminal Investigations Unit, Family Services Squad, began its investigation of Rougier in March after allegations were raised that he abused a child in his care over several years, Duffy said, declining to give any other details about the information about how the allegations arose.

The victim told police in detail how her foster father forced her to perform oral sex on him and to perform oral sex on him as he sat in his reclining chair in his basement, according to the sworn police document filed to support the charges against him.

As an investigator interviewed her in late April at the Child Advocacy Center at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Rockland, she also told police he touched various parts of her body when she was naked and bounced her on his lap face-to-face, making direct sexual contact, the police affidavit said.

The girl said such abuse occurred “on multiple Saturdays throughout the time that she lived within the residence,” the police affidavit said, but the length and time of her living there was not disclosed.

When police later interviewed Rougier – who spoke without a lawyer after being advised of his rights – he claimed the girl first initiated oral sex with him as he sat in his basement reclining chair in 2012, the affidavit said.

He also said the girl took his hands and put them on her bare body parts in another incident and said she initiated another contact another time when she “sat on his lap and began to dance on his lap with her clothes on,” police said in the document.

The affidavit also said a New Castle County police investigator spoke with a therapist in Philadelphia who has been treating the victim.”

Glasgow man charged with sexual abuse of foster child[Delaware Online 6/2/15 by Robin Brown]

“New Castle County Police have arrested a 61-year old man following a sexual abuse investigation

 

Officers say Lazarus Rougier has been charged with numerous counts of sexual abuse of a child.

The Criminal Investigations Unit, Family Services Squad began an investigation of sexual abuse of a young child in March of 2015. Investigators learned the victim was subjected to abuse at the hands of Rougier over a number of years.

Detectives also learned the Rougier family fostered young children in their home starting in 2003 and ending in 2012. The children were as young as 10 years of age and resided in the Rougier home before being adopted.

Lazarus Rougier has been charged with (two counts) unlawful sexual contact in the first degree, continuous sexual abuse of a child and sexual abuse of a child by a person of trust in the first degree.

He has been arraigned and committed to the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in lieu of $265,0000 cash bail and issued a no contact order.”

Former Foster Care Provider Charged with Child Sex Assault in Delaware[My fox Philly 6/2/15 by Ryan Dennis]

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