How Could You? Hall of Shame-Shelley and David Noreika 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.
A 2020 case has come to light.
From Newville, Pennsylvania,foster parents Shelley Noreika, 49, and David Noreika, 50, “pleaded guilty to charges related to the abuse of their four foster children.”
“Shelley M. Noreika last summer pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements relating to health care matters concerning her then-5-year-old daughter. U.S. District Judge Sylvia H. Rambo on Friday sentenced Noreika to 30 months in federal prison, authorities announced.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Noreika admitted that in February 2020 [Shelley] fabricated serious illnesses and made fraudulent statements to health care providers in connection with her adopted daughter.
Prosecutors say that as a direct result of Noreika’s actions, her young child was subjected to unnecessary medical treatments while the child’s health insurer incurred downstream monetary losses “in the six-figures.”
“In particular, and as admitted by Noreika to federal investigators, Noreika told her daughter to pretend and fake having a seizure while Noreika videotaped her,” prosecutors wrote in the release. “Noreika then emailed the video clip of the fake seizure to her daughter’s pediatric neurologist, along with false statements concerning the minor child’s medical condition.”
On several other occasions, prosecutors say Noreika falsely told medical providers that her daughter had been experiencing seizures, “when in fact no such seizures occurred.”
“In fact, at no point did Noreika ever witness her daughter have an actual seizure,” prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors say that both the government and Noreika’s defense attorney recognized that her conduct was “consistent with factitious disorder imposed on another, formerly known as munchausen syndrome by proxy, a mental illness in which a caregiver makes up or causes an illness or injury to a person under their care, to gain attention and sympathy for themselves.”
However, authorities emphasized in court that Noreika also had a clear financial incentive to continue the ruse. As a result of her fraudulent activities, Noreika received enhanced Medicare and adoption subsidiaries while also promoting her daughter’s purported medical conditions to obtain donations from local charitable organizations and by fundraising online.
In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Rambo also ordered Noreika to serve three years on probation following her release and to pay restitution “to the victims of the offense” in the amount of $137,710.86.
“Today’s sentencing sends a strong message that protecting children is a top priority,” Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon said in a statement. “HHS-OIG will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to thoroughly investigate allegations of abuse against children and ensure claims submitted to federal and state programs by caregivers are truthful and accurate.”
Prosecutors noted that Noreika is no longer caring for her adopted daughter.
Noreika is also charged at the state level with endangering the welfare of a child, simple assault, strangulation, and harassment, and is currently awaiting trial.”
Judge throws book at Munchausen syndrome by proxy mom who forced daughter to fake seizures, fundraised off purported illnesses
[Law and Crime 3/6/23 by Jerry Lambe]
” David Noreika, 50, pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of children and simple assault.”
“The couple reportedly physically abused the children, while also being verbally abusive by calling them worthless and degrading them with vulgar insults.”
“Shelley Noreika took her abuse a step further, using a wiffle ball bat and a wooden spoon to beat the children. She even convinced one of the children, who was only five at the time, that they needed a feeding tube and needed to be in a wheelchair. Shelley researched seizure symptoms to be able to coach the child into accurately portraying them in front of doctors, and placed the child into special education classes the child did not need. She also portrayed the youngest child as disabled so she could receive additional money for caring for her.
County Children and Youth agencies compensate parents for providing a supportive environment for children during foster care arrangements. Shelley Noreika also lied about the child’s purported illness to gain donations from local organizations and through a GoFundMe, according to prosecutors.”
“David Noreika and Shelley Noreika will be sentenced on May 23 in the Cumberland County Courthouse in front of Judge Albert Masland. Sentencing guidelines call for Shelley Noreika to spend between 11.25 and 15 years in state prison and for David Noreika to spend between 2.5 and 4.75 years in prison.”
Guilty Plea for Couple in Cumberland County on Abusing Four Foster Children
[Franklin County Free Press 3/15/23]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update:“The majority of abuse toward the Noreika family’s four foster children came from Shelley Noreika, their foster mother.
But David Noreika did assault the foster children, and whether or not he knew everything his wife was doing to them at home, he still turned a blind eye to her behavior.
That’s why the 50-year-old man will serve a prison sentence followed by several years of probation handed down by Cumberland County Judge Albert Masland on Tuesday.
“You come from a deeply religious background,” Masland said. “Not to be too fundamentalist, but there are sins of cognition and sins of omission — things you have done, and things you have failed to do.”
The sentence is the next step in concluding the saga of criminal cases against the Noreika family, who both pleaded guilty in March to child endangerment and assault.
David Noreika, of Lower Mifflin Township, received four years of probation for his crimes, and will spend 11.5 to 23 months of those four years in the Cumberland County Prison.
“I want to apologize for what happened to the children. It was not my finest hour. I deeply regret it and am just trying to move forward,” he told Masland.
David Noreika entered an open plea in both criminal cases against him, which covered one count of endangering the welfare of children and one count of simple assault each.
An open plea is when a defendant and prosecutors agree to what charges the defendant will plead guilty to, but will leave the actual sentence up to the judge presiding over the case.
“I’m satisfied given the facts and evidence in the case. Clearly, the most severe offender is Shelley Noreika,” Elizabeth Judd, senior district attorney in Cumberland County who prosecuted the case, said.
David Noreika was the family’s breadwinner and spent much time away from home during his wife’s abuse of the children, according to Judd. But when he came home, he assaulted the children and ignored his wife’s treatment of them.
She used a wiffle ball bat and a wooden spoon to beat them, while he pushed them against walls or to the ground and punched them. The two were verbally abusive as well, calling the children worthless and degrading them with vulgar insults, Judd said.
Shelley Noreika convinced one of the children, who was 5 at the time of the abuse, that they needed a feeding tube and needed to be in a wheelchair. She researched seizure symptoms to be able to coach the child into accurately portraying them in front of doctors, and placed the child into special education classes the child did not need.
Shelley Noreika portrayed the youngest child as disabled so she could receive additional money for caring for her, according to Judd. County Children and Youth agencies compensate parents for providing a supportive environment for children during foster care arrangements.
Shelly Noreika is currently serving a 30-month prison sentence in a federal “companion” case, which exclusively focused on the financial aspect of her crimes.
She is scheduled to be sentenced June 20 before Masland, whose sentence will come into play after her federal case’s sentence expires.”
Cumberland County man to serve 1 to 2 years in prison for abuse of foster children
[Penn Live 5/30/23 by Jonathan Bergmueller]
Update 2:““I’m not a monster,” Shelley Noreika said in Cumberland County Court Tuesday before being sentenced for abusing four foster children.
“What occurred may be monster-like, but you are not yourself a monster,” Judge Albert Masland replied Before sentencing her to five to 10 years in state prison in the munchausen-by proxy-case.
Munchausen syndrome by proxy is a mental illness involving a caregiver making up medical issues to get attention or sympathy for themselves.”
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