How Could You? Hall of Shame-Ghana Adoptive Parents Kenny and Kelly Fry 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 Osceola, Iowa, Ghana adoptive parents Kenny and Kelly Fry are “facing charges after investigators say they neglected and endangered the health of two children they adopted from Ghana.
Online court records show 42-year-old Kenny Fry and 40-year-old Kelly Fry are each charged with neglect or abandonment of a dependent person, child endangerment-bodily injury, and child endangerment.
An affidavit in the case says a DHS caseworker was called in to investigate alleged abuse at…, the Fry residence, on January 30, 2018. Law enforcement was called in to assist in the investigation.
Officers learned the report was made by a neighbor following an incident the day before, where two children, ages 8 and 9, knocked on the neighbor’s door for about 45 minutes while crying to be let in.
The affidavit says officers discovered the two children were two of Kenny and Kelly Fry’s seven children, and the two had been adopted from Ghana a few years prior.
During the investigation, officers determined the other children in the home had “typical and age appropriate childhood bedrooms.” A bedroom shared by the two adopted children, who were homeschooled, had been subdivided by wood, and the rooms were lined in plastic. The doors had alarms on them and the rooms contained a small plastic mat, a blanket, and a shelf on the wall. No other furnishings or personal items were inside. Each room also contained a plastic bucket to be used as a toilet.
Kelly Fry told investigators she and her husband decided to construct the room months prior because the children were defecating and urinating in their rooms. She also said the alarms were on the doors because the children were sneaking out to steal food and steal from other family members.
A physical examination done at Blank Children’s Hospital determined the children were malnourished and their growth had likely been stunted by nutritional neglect.
The two kids were removed from the home January 30th and placed with family members. The affidavit says the children did not exhibit any of the behavior in the relatives’ home that the Frys had spoken of. One of the children gained 8 pounds in three weeks after being removed from the Frys’ care.
Investigators say during interviews with the children they were told the Frys required them to spend most of their day in their rooms. They were also only fed oatmeal, while the other children in the home were not restricted dietarily. The kids said they were also forced to do physical exercise as punishment, such as squats and push-ups.
Kenny and Kelly Fry were arrested Sunday and have already bonded out of the Clarke County Jail. Preliminary hearings for them have been scheduled for July 3rd.”
Iowa couple accused of feeding adopted kids only oatmeal, confining them to plastic-lined rooms
[Erie News Now 6/25/18 ]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update:“For two years, Barbara Holton has lived across from Kenny and Kelly Fry, the couple accused of neglecting and endangering their two adopted children. The Frys were arrested and charged on Sunday, but have since bonded out of jail.
“I wouldn’t have tolerated knowing something like that was going on with any children at all. It’s just not right. I had no clue,” Holton says.
On occasion, Holton says she would see children playing outside the house and everything looked “perfectly normal,” but she never saw any children of color. Holton was unaware the Frys had adopted children from Ghana.
Court documents show the Frys had adopted the eight-year-old and nine-year-old a few years ago. Records reveal the children were sleeping on plastic mats, using buckets in their room as toilets, and were forced to stay in their room otherwise an alarm would sound and they would be punished.
Neighbors question why a family would take in children if they then chose to mistreat them.
“I was adopted and had wonderful parents. I can’t imagine anyone taking on children that don’t want to love them or take care of them. I don’t get it,” says Holton.
The behavior was first reported to the Department of Human Services by a neighbor who let the children inside their home when they were begging for help. Channel 13 reached out to DHS for comment, but did not immediately hear back. The two adoptive children were immediately removed from the home and into a family member’s house, but it’s unclear where the five biological children are staying.
The Frys were both graduates of Simpson College in Indianola. Jill Johnson, the school’s Vice President for Marketing and Public Relations says the Simpson community is “shocked and appalled by the allegations.” The Frys were both standout student athletes and were inducted into the Simpson College athletic hall of fame. Kelly is a 1999 graduate and is one of the most decorated athletes in Simpson College history, having led led the softball team to two national titles. Kenny graduated the same year and was a letter winner and first team all-conference football player.
The husband and wife are due in court for preliminary hearings on July 3rd.”
https://whotv.com/2018/06/25/neighbors-unaware-of-alleged-abuse-in-osceola-home/
[WhoTv 6/25/18 by Jodi Whitworth]
According to Iowa’s court records, another preliminary hearing will be on July 13, 2018.
Update 2:“An Osceola couple who admitted to keeping their two children in plastic-lined rooms and forcing them to use buckets as toilets has avoided prison time.
Kelly Fry and Kenny Fry were arrested last summer and charged with neglect or abandonment and child endangerment causing bodily injury.
In May, the couple took a plea deal, admitting to two counts of child endangerment.
On Thursday, the Frys received a deferred judgement of two years of probation, over $12,000 in fines and 100 hours of community service.[What?
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Judge Dustria Relph says the Frys are taking steps to right their wrongs and sentencing needs to focus on rehabilitation and opportunities for growth. The judge cited the couple’s attendance at counseling and helping to place the two children in transitional homes.
The Fry family adopted those two children from Ghana and say they were dealing with reactive attachment disorder. In an effort to discipline the children, who were reportedly defecating and urinating in their rooms and sneaking out to steal food, the boy and girl lived in rooms with alarms on the doors and plastic mats on the floor. Meanwhile, the couple’s five other children had “typical and age appropriate childhood bedrooms.”
Neighbors told Channel 13 they were shocked but never saw the adopted kids.
“You know, they looked like white children or Hispanic children and that’s all I ever heard. It seemed like they were having fun out there, when they were out there, like everything was perfectly normal,” said Barbara Holton, a neighbor.
Police say a physical exam determined the kids were malnourished and their growth had likely been stunted by neglect.
Since being removed from the custody of the Frys, the state says the two adopted children are “thriving and sometimes ask to be reunited with the defendants.”
As long as Kelly Fry and Kenny Fry successfully complete their probation, the charges will be wiped from their records.”
Osceola Couple Accused of Neglecting their adopted Children Avoid prison
[WHOTV 7/26/19 by Samantha Gronlund]
Kids generally don’t “steal” food if they’re adequately fed. If you’re concerned about them eating more sweets or chips than is healthy, the correct response is to lock the junk food up, not the kids.