How Could You? Hall of Shame-Richard Cassada

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 Rochester, New York, Foster and Adoptive  parent Richard Cassada ,60, is”accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl and he was arrested in 2005 for a similar incident.”

“Cassada actually had his foster parent status revoked back in 2005 after that arrest and conviction for a sexual assault. But, by then, he had already adopted his foster kids and officials say they couldn’t be taken away. [Say what???]We asked the Livingston County Department of Social Services if they got this one right.

Commissioner Diane Deane says, “It outrages me as well… the fact that we have somebody who was trusted and then became untrustworthy. Those incidents that happened in the mid-2000’s happened after our involvement and after they became foster parents.”

Livingston County Social Services Commissioner Diane Deane is defending her department’s actions. We went to her two days after the arrest of 60-year-old Cassada. He was convicted of grand larceny in 1981, then third degree sexual abuse in 2006. That earned him sex offender status and now he’s charged with rape after the assault of another teenage girl.

How did this man become a foster parent and then go on to adopt his foster kids? We’re told that by the time of his 2006 conviction, he had already adopted those children and the state says it had no way to undo it.

“We react unfortunately in these cases when these allegations come up,” says Deane. “We react and we work to the benefit of the children’s safety.”

Deane says her department couldn’t have done anything differently and that everything went by the book. So does the book need to be rewritten? This was her response:

She says, “I think our bar is very high and I think over time it gets higher and higher if you ask people here. I think that they will tell you that.”

The Avon Police Chief tells us the adopted kids have now been taken out of the home.”

Officials respond to case of a sex offender allowed to be foster parent[WHEC 12/18/14 by Chris Horvatits]

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