How Could You? Hall of Shame-Terry E. Prouty 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 Zanesville, Ohio, foster father Terry E. Prouty,47, ” has pleaded guilty to one count of rape and one count of bribery and is in the county jail on a $1 million bond awaiting a May 16 sentencing hearing.”

“Terry E. Prouty looked after seven children in his year and a half as a foster parent, and nothing in the man’s past indicated he would have abused any of them, an official said.

But he did abuse one — a little girl, according to the prosecutor’s office.”

“Although the county’s child protective authorities have an extensive background check system for people who want to become foster parents, Prouty was still able to avoid detection, said David Boyer, executive director of Muskingum County Adult and Child Protective Services.

“In this scenario, there was nothing — no red flags, nothing to suggest that this would be the end result,” Boyer said.

It’s a process that involves 36 hours of classroom training; a local, state and federal criminal background check; a medical exam; and a home study. County officials also investigate a person for previous child abuse or neglect issues, Boyer said.

Sixty-six people in Muskingum County are licensed foster parents, Boyer said. He estimated officials place 120 children in foster care in a given year, and that 85 are in the program at any time.

“The vast majority, 99-plus percent of the foster parents, just do a marvelous job,” Boyer said.

He called this situation horrific and said it should never happen.

Prouty was approved in April 2014 after completing a yearlong application process. Between then and fall of 2015, he fostered five girls and two boys, Boyer said.

Then, last fall, authorities learned that Prouty allegedly had abused a girl in his care when she made statements to a teacher’s aide. She and her sister were later interviewed at an advocacy center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Assistant County Prosecutor Ron Welch said during a plea hearing last month.

As the investigation continued, prosecutors say, authorities learned that Prouty allegedly committed the crime with his foster child between August and November last year. The girl’s sister witnessed the act, officials said.

The mother of the children told the Times Recorder both were 5 years old at the time.

The prosecutor’s office is asking for a life sentence in the case with a possibility of parole after 13 years.

The birth mother, who the Times Recorder is not naming, said her wish is to let other parents know about what can happen so that maybe such instances can be prevented in the future.

“It’s just really crazy that he was a foster parent and was supposed to be somebody my kids can look up to,” she said. “I just hope he gets what he deserves.”

The woman sought temporary foster care for her daughters as she was going through a difficult time. She has had custody of both of them since December, she said.

The birth mother remembers that on the day she found out about the investigation, she had a scheduled visit with the girls at Prouty’s home. But it was cancelled when officials told her the girls were being evaluated.

As the investigation continued, Prouty reportedly began calling the birth mother, asking that she tell her girls to change their story. According to prosecutors, he offered her $10,000.

“Why would you call the person’s mother that you just did this to and be so disrespectful to ask if she’d take money to make it all go away?” the mother said. “He didn’t want to face the music.”

To this day, both girls are still in counseling, their mother said.

“They’re just good kids, and they just want to move on with their lives,” she said.

Still, she said she doesn’t blame children services for what happened.

“I don’t feel that it is particularly their fault because they tried to place my kids with somebody that they thought was going to take care of them,” she said. “He lived a good life. Nobody thought he would have done that stuff.”

The investigation concluded that Prouty never abused any of the other children he fostered, Boyer said. Asked what, if anything, his agency can do to prevent such instances from occurring again, he said it requires bolstering the background check process that is already in place.

“I think we just got to continue to look really hard in all the avenues,” Boyer said. “Make sure everyone’s motives are pure and do more of everything we do to try to ensure we get great quality foster parents in our system.””

Official: No red flags for foster parent who pleaded guilty to rape [Zanesville Times Recorder 3/29/16 by Eric Lagatta]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: “Just before being sentenced to life in prison Monday in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court, Terry E. Prouty admitted to the court, again, he was guilty.

He was guilty of bribery, he said in response to Judge Kelly Cottrill’s question. And he was guilty of rape.

Prouty, 47, of Nashport, received three years in prison for bribery and life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years for the rape of a then-5-year-old girl. The sentences are consecutive, which means he will serve at least 13 years in prison before he has a chance of parole. He also was ordered to register as a Tier 3 sex offender.

The victim was a girl Prouty was caring for as a foster parent, and the incident took place between August and November 2015. The birth mother, who the Times Recorder is not naming as not to identify the victim, sought temporary foster care for her daughters as she was going through a difficult time. She has had custody of both of them since December, she said.

The victim’s sister was forced to watch the incident, the mother said.

During his sentencing, Prouty said he wanted to apologize to the victim.

“I’m just glad it’s over,” the mother said. “That’s a long time in prison.”

Cottrill said he received 22 letters in support of Prouty from Prouty’s friends, family and co-workers. The victim’s mother said she was happy to hear Prouty admit in court again that he was guilty and that he was sentenced to life in prison despite the letters the judge received.

“(My daughters) will be 19 years old before he has a chance to get out,” the mother said.

According to Muskingum County Adult and Child Protective Services, the investigation concluded Prouty never abused any of the other children he fostered. He was a foster parent for about 18 months.

The victim’s mother remembers that on the day she found out about the investigation, she had a scheduled visit with the girls at Prouty’s home. But it was cancelled when officials told her the girls were being evaluated.

As the investigation continued, Prouty reportedly began calling the birth mother, asking her tell her girls to change their story. According to the mother, he offered her $10,000.

The mother knew and liked Prouty, and she trusted him to take care of her children, she said. When she gave birth to her third child, she said Prouty told her he would be happy to watch the baby anytime. Now, in retrospect, she wonders what he was thinking when he made that offer, which occurred after the incident.

The victim, the mother said, has good days and bad days. Both of her daughters, who are now 6 years old, are on medication and in counseling. The mother is planning to go back to work, but she doesn’t want to leave her children.

Prouty had passed background checks and was approved by the state to be a foster parent, she said, adding if he could have committed a crime like this, then anyone could.”

Ex-foster parent sentenced to life in prison for rape[Zanesville Times Recorder 5/16/16 by Kate Snyder]