How Could You?Hall of Shame-Social Worker and Adoptive Mother Sharra Blakemore 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 Louisville, Kentucky, social worker and adoptive mother Sharra Blakemore, 41, “has been arrested and charged with child abuse after she allegedly directed a friend to strike the social worker’s two children with a belt, injuring them both.” She is “a worker with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services office in Hardin County, was arrested Thursday on the charge along with a friend, Jaqueline Lewis, also of Louisville.”

“A Louisville Metro Police report says that Blakemore drove her two children, ages 10 and 12, to Lewis’ home and gave Lewis a belt, instructing her to strike children 10 times. The 12-year-old has cerebral palsy, the police report said.

Lewis complied and struck the children with the belt, leaving them with multiple bruises from their hips to their knees, the report said. A teacher at the children’s day camp noticed the bruises and reported them to the cabinet’s Child Protective Services office, the report said.

CPS investigators contacted police, the report said.

Both Blakemore and Lewis were charged with child abuse.

Blakemore is continuing to work for the cabinet while the matter is under investigation but is not handling any active cases, said Jill Midkiff, a spokeswoman for the cabinet.

Blakemore works in the cabinet’s Division of Protection and Permanency, which investigates child abuse, works to keep families together and oversees cases of families with ongoing cases of child abuse or neglect. Midkiff said she didn’t have further details available of of Blakemore’s duties.

No contact information was listed on the police report for either Blakemore or Lewis.”

State social worker accused of abuse[Louisville Courier-Journal 7/20/15 by Deborah Yetter]

A search of the Kentucky court records shows that she will be arraigned on 7/27/15.

REFORM Puzzle Piece

 

Update: “Two Louisville women charged with child abuse — one, a state social worker — have pleaded not guilty and their lawyers said both women maintain their innocence and that additional details of the case will cast their clients in a more favorable light.

Sharra Blakemore, 41, a social service worker with the Hardin County office of the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and her friend, Jaqueline Lewis, 51, were arrested Thursday and charged with child abuse. An arrest warrant says Blakemore drove her two children, ages 10 and 12, to Lewis’ home on June 18 and instructed Lewis to strike the children repeatedly with a belt.

Lewis did so, leaving bruises on both children that a worker at the children’s day camp reported to child protection officials with the cabinet, the arrest warrant said. The 12-year-old has cerebral palsy, it said.

Felicia Nu’Man, a lawyer for Blakemore, said her client is a good mother who adopted two children with special needs and was trying hard to care for them. Blakemore says she is innocent of the charge of child abuse, Nu’Man said.”

“There are things that will come out in the district court case that will definitely show my client is a good mother [Yeah,right!] and is doing the best she can with the children she has,” Nu’Man said.

Jessica Green, a lawyer for Lewis, said she believes her client will be exonerated.

“Ms. Lewis has been an upstanding member of this community. She loves children,” Green said. “I think the evidence is going to show she is not guilty.”

Both Blakemore and Lewis have been released on bond pending their next court appearance July 27.

Lewis was ordered to have no contact with the alleged victims or any witnesses in the case. Blakemore has been ordered to have no contact with her children.

Court records don’t show who is caring for Blakemore’s children.

Blakemore is on personal leave from her job as a social service clinician with the cabinet’s Division of Protection and Permanency, which investigates suspected child abuse and neglect. Cabinet officials are investigating the matter, cabinet spokeswoman Jill Midkiff said.”

Social worker, friend plead not guilty to abuse [Louisville Courier-Journal 7/21/15 by Deborah Yetter]

Update 2: “A social worker is accused of abusing her special-needs children with the help of a friend.

The mother, Sharra Blakemore, and her friend, Jacqueline Lewis, were in court Monday for a pretrial conference.

Judge Jennifer Bryant Wilcox ruled that Lewis, 51, can have no contact with any children.

It will be up to a family court judge to decide if Blakemore, 41, can have contact with her children.

The women face child abuse charges.

“This is just the encapsulated version of details they wrote down. There’s a lot more to this case,” Blakemore’s attorney, Felicia Nu’man, said.

Detectives said that on June 18, Blakemore drove her 10-and 12-year-old special-needs children to Lewis’ home on North 36th Street and asked Lewis to hit the children 10 times with a belt.

According to court records, the 12-year-old has cerebral palsy.

“She was a social worker. She adopted these children, and they have special needs, and she took on this great responsibility of adopting kids that are older and have special needs, and it is a difficult task and I think that is something important to take into account. These aren’t little children, (they) aren’t toddlers, these are teenagers,” Nu’man said.[Not Quite! 10 and 12 year olds are NOT teenagers!]

Detectives said a teacher at a day camp called Child Protective Services after noticing that the children had bruises from their hips to their knees.

Blakemore’s attorney maintained her client’s innocence. She described her client as a good mother and said there’s more to the story. Lewis’ attorney said the same.

“There are extenuating circumstances in this case. I do not believe that once the evidence comes out that Jacqueline Lewis will be found guilty by a jury,” defense attorney Jessica Green said.

The trial for Blakemore and Lewis is set for November.”

Social worker, friend accused of child abuse appear in court [WLKY 7/27/15 by Erica Coghill]

Update 3:”A state social worker charged with having a friend strike the worker’s two children repeatedly with a belt has resigned her job with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

Sharra Blakemore, 41, who worked in the cabinet’s Hardin County office, quit Friday after cabinet officials notified her they were seeking to fire her for the June 18 incident in Louisville that left her two adopted children, ages 10 and 12, with multiple bruises, according to personnel documents released by the cabinet.

The 12-year-old has cerebral palsy, according to court records.

Cabinet officials notified Blakemore on Aug. 7 that they intended to dismiss her from her job as a social worker following the incident in which an arrest warrant said Blakemore took her two children to the home of a friend, Jaqueline Lewis, gave Lewis a belt and instructed her to strike each child 10 times.

Blakemore and Lewis were each charged with child abuse after workers at the children’s day camp noticed the bruises and contacted child protection authorities at the cabinet.

Both women have pleaded not guilty in Jefferson District Court and their lawyers said they plan to contest the charges.

Cabinet officials told Blakemore they were seeking to fire her for lack of good behavior and violating ethical standards.

Under state personnel guidelines, Blakemore had the right to ask for a hearing and present information on her behalf.

Instead, she submitted a letter of resignation Aug. 14. Cabinet officials accepted the resignation “with prejudice” because of the pending charges of dismissal.

Meanwhile, cabinet officials have taken steps to terminate Lewis as a foster parent.

Lewis had served as a foster parent for the state but is not currently caring for any foster children and officials are seeking to terminate her from the program, a cabinet spokeswoman said.”

Social worker charged with child abuse quits [Lexington Courier-Journal 8/17/15 by Deborah Yetter]

Update 4:A Search of the public Kentucky court cases shows that Sharra will have a show cause hearing on June 17, 2016.