How Could You? Hall of Shame-George Steen

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 Lincolnton, North Carolina, foster father George Steen, 41, went on trial for sex offenses with a chlid on March 26, 2012.

“Steen and his wife [Jennifer] were licensed foster parents from 2005 to 2009, according to the Lincoln County Department of Social Services.

Steen, now 41, was initially arrested in 2009 and held on a $170,000 bond and has since been out on bail. ”

“According to Assistant District Attorney Beth Lari, George Steen sodomized the child when he was 7- and 8-years-old.

Defense attorney T.J. Wilson told jurors during opening statements Monday afternoon that the boy has a reputation for untruthfulness. The child has been in about 15 foster homes,Wilson said.

The child, now 11, was in court Monday, wearing a dress shirt and slacks and holding a stuffed animal. He will testify against Steen during the trial.

Lari told jurors that the sex crimes happened in Steen’s Lincolnton home from 2007 to 2009. Steen’s wife was not aware of the abuse, Lari said. She was either in another room or not at home when the assaults occurred, Lari said of Steen’s wife.”

“The boy was placed in another foster care facility in 2009 and that’s when he reported the abuse, according to Lari.”

“Steen could face a life sentence if convicted as charged.”

Foster parent on trial for child sex crimes
[Gaston Gazette 3/26/12 by Diane Turbyfill]

“An 11-year-old boy said his foster father sexually assaulted him multiple times a week when he was 6- and 7-years-old.

The child testified Tuesday morning that George Steen would molest him while the two showered together. His foster mother was sometimes in the Lincolnton home at the time but unaware of the molestation, the child said.

“I tried to scream the first day and the second day but he covered my mouth,” the boy said from the witness stand. “He was doing wrong things to me.”

Allegations of abuse

The child was taken from his mother and put into foster care in 2005, at the age of 4. He lived with the Steens on and off until he turned 8.

The boy said that Steen threatened to punish him if he told anyone what they did in the shower. Steen also told the child that no one believes a kid anyway.

The Steens were certified foster parents. According to the child’s testimony, he struggled to tell the truth in the past. If he told a lie, the boy would be made to eat soap when living with the Steens, the child testified.

The boy didn’t speak of the alleged abuse until he was placed in another foster home. One day while watching TV with his new foster mother the boy spoke of his relationship with Steen.

Lincoln County Department of Social Services was called, and Steen was charged with three counts of child sex assault.

Steen’s attorney, T.J. Wilson, said during opening statements Monday that the boy has a history of lying.

The defense has not yet had its chance to present evidence or witnesses.

Mental and emotional issues

Several psychologists and social workers testified in  Steen’s trial Tuesday.

One psychologist talked of the child’s current mental state. He functions at a second-grade level and has sexual behavior issues. The boy suffers from depression, ADHD, expressive language disorder and reactive attachment disorder, according to specialists.

Like many children who have suffered sex abuse, the boy now expresses sexual predatory behavior. He now lives in a facility for children who display such behaviors.

Seven years in foster care

The Lincoln County child moved in with the Steens at age 4. It was his first foster home. His stay was short – just 21 days.

Social Services moved the boy to another family where his two sisters had gone. But taking on three children proved too much for those foster parents so the boy was removed from the home and returned to the Steens.

The child spent the next two-and-a-half years in the Steens’ home.

DSS attempted again to reunite the boy with family, returning him to his mother. But that attempt was short-lived. A month later he went into a group home. He spent six days there before being placed with another family.

The boy began acting out, according to social workers, and he was taken to a hospital for 10 days where his medications were leveled out.

He was returned to the Steens’ home in December 2007 where he stayed until February 2009.

At age 8 the child was transferred to another family for four days followed by a group home for nine days.

His next family kept him for three months before he was sent again to a group home.

In 2009, the child was placed with a family for nine months. That’s where he reported the alleged abuse.

The child now lives in a psychiatric residential treatment facility where his sexual and behavioral issues can be addressed.

On the stand

The boy was visibly uncomfortable when talking about sex in front of a room full of people. He told Lincoln County Assistant District Attorney Beth Lari that he was nervous and just wanted to finish his testimony.

He gripped a small stuffed animal. He said the toy was a way to calm his nerves.

The boy said he didn’t want to talk about it, but he wanted to make sure Steen didn’t victimize anyone else.

“That’s why I told,” he said. “I didn’t want no one else to be involved with this.”

The child left the courtroom Tuesday morning once he finished his testimony.”

Boy testifies against former foster parent in sex case
[Gaston Gazette 3/27/12 by Diane Turbyfill]

“According to Asst. District Attorney Elizabeth Lari, lead prosecutor in the case, Jennifer Steen testified Wednesday that the couple became foster parents in order to take care of the boy. Lari was unsure as to how long the Steens served as foster parents, but said they also briefly cared for an infant.
A jury found Mr. Steen guilty of two counts of first-degree statutory sexual offense and one count, under “Jessica’s Law,” of sexual offense with a child by an adult offender, court authorities said.

Under “Jessica’s Law,” individuals convicted of sexually abusing a child under 12 receive lifetime electronic monitoring and a minimum life sentence of 25 years. Florida first adopted the law in 2005 after a convicted sex offender molested and murdered a local girl. The law, which is meant to prevent sex offenders from victimizing others, has since been adopted by a number of other states.

Judge Robert Ervin sentenced George Steen to between 300 and 369 months behind bars, which translates to between 25 and 30 years.

Authorities arrested Steen in 2009 after the boy revealed the abuse to another set of foster parents whom he was living with at the time. The incidents were reported to the Department of Social Services, which in turn contacted local law enforcement, authorities said.

Steen continues to deny his guilt, Lari said, and has appealed his conviction.

Following his prison term, if his appeal is unsuccessful, he’ll be forced to register as a sex offender and submit to satellite-based monitoring “for the rest of his natural life,” Lari said.”
Former foster dad sentenced for molesting 8-year-old boy
[Lincolnton Times News 3/29/12 by Jenna-Ley Harrison]

“The 41-year-old man admitted in court that he took showers with the boy but denied any inappropriate behavior.”

“The boy testified that Jennifer Steen, George Steen’s wife, was never in the room when the molestation occurred.

Both Jennifer and George Steen took the witness stand for the defense Wednesday morning. Each of them said that George Steen took showers with the boy when there was a time crunch.

“The only time I took showers with him was when we were in a hurry,” he said.

Steen said that happened once or twice a week.

Jennifer Steen said that she sat on the toilet with a towel waiting to dry the child off each time.

Jurors not only listened to testimony from Steen, his wife and his accuser, they heard from a series of psychologists, social workers and the boy’s other foster parents.

The child’s other foster parents described inappropriate social and sexual behavior he displayed at a young age. One specialist said those instances pointed to a child who had been sexually abused.

Both Jennifer and George Steen said during testimony that they loved the boy and considered him part of their family.

The Steens met the child at New Vision Ministries, a Lincoln County church. Jennifer Steen worked at the church’s day care.

Not yet licensed foster parents, the couple took the child in when a fellow church member couldn’t handle the burden of all the children she was fostering.

The Steens started the process of becoming foster parents and earned their licensing.

They intended to eventually adopt the boy who later accused George Steen of sexual abuse.

Lincoln County Assistant District Attorney Beth Lari asked George Steen about his adoration for the boy during cross-examination.

Steen told her that he had an attachment to the child even when he was placed in other homes and facilities – keeping in contact with him, buying him gifts and attempting to get him back.

Steen was once ordered to take anger management classes after an outburst at the Department of Social Services offices when he couldn’t see the boy.

Lari also asked Steen why he thought the child would display behaviors of a sexually abused child.

Steen said the issue could have stemmed from a time when he left the boy at his mother’s house for a stay. Steen’s brother, Richard Steen, also spent the night.

Richard Steen, who had pending sex charges inTexas, slept in the same bed with the child. They slept in their underwear and the boy later reported inappropriate touching.

Steen’s brother was not convicted of the sex offense of which he was accused.

Like many children who have suffered sex abuse, the boy now expresses sexual predatory behavior.

Social workers told of two instances where the boy was involved in inappropriate sexual encounters with other boys – once in another foster home and once outside behind a shed.

The boy now lives in a facility for children who display such behaviors.

Steen had no prior sex charges.

Jury selection in the trial began Monday. Presentation of evidence kicked off Tuesday morning. By Wednesday afternoon Steen was led out of court by Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies.”

Foster parent now convicted sex offender
[Gaston Gazette 3/29/12 by Diane Turbyfill]

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