How Could You? Hall of Shame-Dennis James Sullivan Jr. 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 Benedict, Minnesota, foster parent Dennis James Sullivan Jr.,50 , “has been charged with attempted murder of his foster son, according to the Hubbard County Attorney’s Office.”
“Officials say Dennis James Sullivan has also been charged with first and third degree assault arising from an incident at their home in Benedict on Tuesday.
Sullivan was arrested in Fargo Thursday and waived extradition to Minnesota.
ABC-affiliate WDAZ reports the 50-year-old doctor tried to choke his 10-year-old special needs foster child with a plastic glove Tuesday night. The foster mother heard the 10-year-old choking. WDAZ reports she discovered Sullivan pushing the glove down the child’s throat when she went to check on him.
WDAZ reports Sullivan then called the Grand Forks Stadter Center, saying he had homicidal thoughts. He drove to the facility, where police arrested him.
The Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office expected Sullivan in court on Friday or Monday.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and North Dakota law enforcement agencies assisted in the investigation.”
Minn. Doctor Charged for Allegedly Choking Foster Child with Plastic Glove[Kaaltv 6/19/14 by Megan Stewart]
“A surgeon charged with attempted murder for allegedly forcing a latex glove down his foster son’s throat has been returned to Minnesota.
The Associated Press reported that bail was set at $500,000 Friday in Hubbard County for Dennis James Sullivan Jr., 50, who is charged with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and third-degree assault.
Authorities said Sullivan attacked the 10-year-old boy at his home Tuesday night and was stopped by his wife. Sullivan was arrested later that evening in Grand Forks, N.D., where he had gone after contacting a mental health center expressing “homicidal thoughts,” the criminal complaint said.
As conditions of his bail, Sullivan must remain in the state, surrender his passport and not have contact with children, the AP reported, quoting the Hubbard County Attorney’s Office.”
Surgeon accused of choking foster son returns to Minnesota[Grand Forks Herald 6/20/14]
“Sullivan’s attorney said he would request a mental health evaluation, the Hubbard County attorney’s office said. Sullivan’s attorney was not yet listed in online court records Friday afternoon, and the county administrator’s office did not immediately return a message Friday asking who the attorney is.
According to the criminal complaint, Sullivan’s wife went into the boy’s room Tuesday afternoon after hearing a strange sound. She said she saw her husband pushing a plastic glove down the child’s throat as the boy gasped for breath.
Sullivan then pulled the glove out and put it in his pocket, his wife told investigators. She yelled at Sullivan “asking him what he was doing. Sullivan responded that he did not know,” the complaint said.
Sullivan called and then drove to a mental health center in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he was arrested.
His wife told police that he said he’d had homicidal thoughts. She asked “if this had happened before and he said ‘three more times’ in the immediate past and he only ‘put his hand over (the child’s) mouth for one minute,’” the complaint said.
The document identifies the child only by his initials.
Sullivan also has been charged with first-degree assault-great bodily harm and third-degree assault-substantial bodily harm. He faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted on all charges.”
Minnesota Surgeon Arrested In North Dakota[CBS 6/20/14 by Associated press]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update:“A surgeon arrested in Grand Forks after assaulting his disabled foster son in Minnesota received a 43-month prison sentence today.
Dr. Dennis James Sullivan, 50, of Benedict, Minn., received the sentence during a hearing in Hubbard County District Court.
According to a news release from Hubbard County prosecutors, Judge Paul Rasmussen rejected Sullivan’s request today for a more lenient sentence than the spelled out in the state’s guidelines.
In August, Sullivan pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted assault for trying to suffocate his foster child. Prosecutors dismissed charges ranging from third-degree assault to attempted second-degree murder.
During that hearing, Sullivan said the boy he and his wife took in under foster care and were planning on adopting was blind, wheelchair-bound and severely mentally disabled.
Previously, Sullivan told the court he placed a glove in the boy’s mouth “in front of his tongue and behind his teeth” so the child could not bite him, then placed his hand over the boy’s mouth to interrupt his breathing.
He testified that his wife, Rebecca Sullivan, caught him. The criminal complaint states that he fled that same day to a Grand Forks mental health center, where he was arrested. ”
Surgeon arrested in Grand Forks receives 43-month prison term for attempted abuse of foster son[Grand Forks Herald 10/24/14]
“A doctor from the Park Rapids area has been sentenced to 3-and-a-half years in prison for trying to suffocate a foster child.
Dennis Sullivan, 50, had pleaded guilty to attempted assault. He was originally charged with attempted murder and could have faced up to 10 years in prison.
Sullivan admitted to placing a latex glove in the boy’s mouth and covering his mouth to interrupt his breathing. His wife caught him. Sullivan then left his home and went to a mental health clinic in Grand Forks where he was arrested.
The boy is blind, in a wheelchair and mentally disabled. Sullivan was practicing in Milbank, South Dakota at the time of his arrest.”
Doctor sentenced for trying to suffocate foster child[KFGO 10/24/14 by Paul Jurgens]
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