How Could You? Hall of Shame-Stephen Calderon 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 Laramie, Wyoming, foster parent, “Stephen Calderon, 30, arrested in August [2014] in Converse County, is also under investigation in Albany County, the Laramie Police Department confirmed.”

“A former Laramie foster parent faces 11 charges of sexual abuse of a minor in Converse County stemming from allegations he sexually assaulted an 8-year-old girl in Douglas.”

“Calderon is charged with 11 counts of first-degree sexual assault in Converse County. Each charge carries a penalty of up to 25 years imprisonment and/or a $10,000 fine, according to court documents.

While the Laramie Police wouldn’t release details about the ongoing investigation or charges, a former resident whose children were under Calderon’s care in Laramie said his daughter was raped several times by Calderon.

Chris Kruse, the girl’s father, said he wants to make the incident public because what happened to his family “is wrong and needs to be exposed.”

Kruse said his daughters were 3, 6 and 9 when the Wyoming Department of Family Services placed them under the care of Calderon and his wife in January 2013 in Laramie.

Kruse, who originally lost custody of his children following a divorce, fought to get his daughters back for more than a year.

DFS returned them to his custody in November 2013. The following November, Kruse’s oldest daughter — who turned 10 under Calderon’s care — told Kruse, his partner and a trusted friend that Calderon came into her bedroom and performed sexual acts on her, Kruse said.

When Kruse found out, he said, “it killed me inside.”

“We believe in this system that’s supposed to take care of us, and when things aren’t right, they’re supposed to be there for our families, specifically DFS,” he said. “When they step in and take children away, they don’t do any better when they put them in this kind of care, you know, put them in a situation like that — that scars them for life. There’s nothing you can do to take something like that away. It’s going to be there forever.”

The Wyoming DFS declined to discuss Calderon’s employment, such as where or for how long he was a foster parent. Nor would the agency say how many children were placed under Calderon’s care.

DFS also declined to speak about the details of Kruse’s case.

A report on payments made to Calderon provided by DFS following a public records request shows the first payment made to Calderon was in July 2007. The final payment made to Calderon was in August. During this time period, DFS paid Calderon about $93,000.

During the time period Calderon had Kruse’s children — roughly January 2013-November 2013 — DFS paid Calderon about $26,430, records state.

Tony Lewis, the agency’s spokesman, wrote in an email “Wyoming has an excellent safety record when it comes to protecting children in foster care.”

“We realize, however, that it’s unacceptable for even one child to be harmed in foster care,” he wrote. “Because this case is now in the courts, DFS can’t comment on the information provided to the Laramie Boomerang without violating state statutes on confidentiality in child cases.”

Divorce and protection orders

Kruse provided the Boomerang with hundreds of files documenting the agency’s custody of his children and his struggle to get them back.

Kruse and his ex-wife divorced in 2010, and she was granted custody of the children.

Court records provided by Kruse show his ex-wife took out four protection orders against him, dating back to 2002.

In the 2002 protection order, filed in Angola, Indiana, Kruse’s ex-wife alleged he “shut my hand in the door” and “verbally abuses and threatens me.”

Kruse said that charge was later dismissed.

In a 2005 protection order, filed in Fort Collins, Colorado, Kruse’s ex-wife alleged “he was choking me until I blacked out.”

Kruse said he took a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge in a plea agreement in this matter.

His ex-wife filed one family violence protection order in 2008 in Albany County. Kruse counter-sued and won the case, according to Albany County court records.

Kruse’s ex-wife also filed one stalking protection order in Albany County.

The case was closed without a prevailing party named.

For his part, Kruse maintains he and his ex-wife argued, but he was not violent. Rather, she made the allegations because she “learned how to work the system.”

“There was never any reason for (the protection orders),” he said. “She continually used the exact same reason, almost word for word.”

Kruse also said he has never been convicted of a felony. A review of Albany County court records shows he has no felonies in Wyoming.

Kruse said his ex-wife moved to Indiana. Attempts to contact her for this story were unsuccessful.

In summer 2012, Kruse’s ex-wife dropped his three daughters off at his house for a summer visitation, he said.

During the visit, which lasted several weeks, Kruse and Alisha Hood, his partner, would spank the girls if they misbehaved, he said.

Before the children returned to Kruse’s ex-wife, Hood said she spanked the middle child with a spoon.

Kruse’s ex-wife later saw bruises on the child’s behind and called police.

According to court documents, Kruse’s ex-wife told police the bruises were from the spanking.

In an interview with the Boomerang, Hood said she didn’t spank the child hard enough to leave bruises.

According to court documents, Hood told police on July 27 “it was possible she had bruised (the child) while spanking, but if she had it was unintentional.”

Kruse told the Boomerang the bruises came from the child falling off her scooter. He told police “if Alisha left the bruises, they were unintentional,” according to court documents.

Neglect/abuse petitions were filed against Kruse and Hood in Albany County District Court. In a fall 2012 plea agreement, Hood pleaded no contest to the charge. In return, the state agreed to drop the charge against Kruse, according to court documents.

Kruse’s ex-wife, however, kept custody of the children — until January 2013.

DFS takes custody

Following the neglect/abuse incidents, the court ordered Hood, Kruse and Kruse’s ex-wife to take parenting classes, along with several other obligations. Kruse and Hood said they hoped to begin the process of getting the children back, so they began “jumping through the hoops.”

However, Hood said the court insisted the parenting classes be taken by all three adults.

When Kruse’s ex-wife failed to show up for classes, thereby delaying the eventual return of Kruse’s children, he sued her for contempt of court, Kruse said.

During the Jan. 7 contempt of court hearing, the judge found out Kruse’s ex-wife was keeping the children in the same home as a convicted felon and registered sex offender, according to court documents.

DFS took the children into custody the next day, placing them with Calderon and his wife.

“When they were first taken, I went to (our DFS caseworker) and said, ‘Why are they going to foster care?’” Kruse said. “‘You have no issues with us. I’ve been cleared.’”

Kruse contended the children were taken from him in the first place because of something Hood allegedly did. Moreover, the charges against him were dismissed in the plea agreement.

But the caseworker told him there was a protocol for getting his children back, Kruse said.

“He said, ‘Give it a couple of weeks,’” Kruse said. “He told me that for months.”

Meanwhile, Kruse and Hood went to multidisciplinary team meetings, where case and custody matters were discussed among attorneys, counselors, DFS caseworkers, school principals and others.

The multidisciplinary team was originally opposed to granting Kruse custody.

But as Kruse and Hood worked through parenting classes, attended meetings, spoke with team members and complied with other wishes, the team eventually recommended transitioning custody to Kruse.

For example, in a July 2013 multidisciplinary team meeting document, the entire team recommended keeping Kruse’s children in DFS custody.

By October 2013, however, every team member except the ex-wife’s lawyer recommended transitioning the children to Kruse’s care, according to the team document.

Conversely, the entire team except the ex-wife’s lawyer disagreed with a recommendation to transition the children to Kruse’s ex-wife’s care, according to the team document.

Kruse got his girls back shortly before Thanksgiving 2013.

Transition and Calderon

Bringing the girls back into the household was difficult, Kruse said, and none of his children mentioned anything about the abuse.

In time, however, Kruse said he had a feeling his oldest daughter wanted to tell him something.

“I think she wanted to talk to us, but she didn’t know, she was scared, she thought she would get in trouble for what had happened,” he said.

She first told a trusted friend of the family, Kruse said.

Then she opened up about the abuse to Kruse and Hood in November 2014, a year after returning home, Kruse said

Hood and Kruse said they don’t know whether the younger daughters were abused.

The oldest, Hood said, has done her best to cope with the trauma. For months, she had nightmares and couldn’t sleep without her dog.

“She’s afraid that somebody is going to come wake her up in the middle of the night,” Hood said.

Laramie police approached the oldest daughter to report the crime, Kruse and Hood said, but their daughter declined to comment.

“She’s very embarrassed,” Hood said. “She’s scared to talk about it.”

But Kruse said the family has since moved out of the state, and all three children have slowly improved since coming home.

A March multidisciplinary team report stated “all three girls have expressed excitement about living with their father.”

As for Calderon, he remains in custody in the Converse County Detention Center.

Calderon allegedly told authorities in August he performed multiple sexual acts with the 8-year-old girl during the time period of April 1-Aug. 28 in Douglas, according to court documents. Speaking with Converse County Sheriff’s Office deputies, the minor child allegedly confirmed the allegations, according to the documents.

Any case brought against him in Albany County is pending the Converse County proceedings, Laramie Police Lt. Gwen Smith wrote in an email.

Calderon was arraigned in October in Converse County District Court. A pretrial hearing is set for March 24.

He remains incarcerated in the Converse County Detention Center, where he awaits an April 6 trial.

DFS official explains foster parent vetting process, Wyoming safety record

Tony Lewis, Wyoming Department of Family Services spokesman, said the agency vets potential foster parents through a series of background checks, including running their fingerprints through an FBI database and checking state child abuse and neglect records.

Caseworkers examine potential foster parents’ residences. DFS trains foster parents on “the nature of the responsibilities that go along with having a foster kid,” Lewis said. The agency also provides special services, counseling and additional resources for foster parents watching children with special needs, he said.

Lewis said a state’s overall performance and safety are typically measured with three indicators: the percentage of children who receive monthly visits from caseworkers; the state’s average time for investigating reported cases of maltreatment; and the number of children maltreated in foster care.

“On those three measures, Wyoming has good performance,” Lewis said.

According to the United States Children’s Bureau:

— In 2012, the most recent year for which data is available, 98 percent of Wyoming’s foster children in the state received monthly visits from caseworkers.

— In 2012, no foster children were maltreated while in foster care.

— In 2012, Wyoming’s average time for investigating cases involving children was 14.9 hours.

“The national standard is supposed to be around 24 hours,” Lewis said. “About one-third of the states can’t meet that, and there are very few states that have as quick a response time as Wyoming.””

 Father speaks out about foster parent allegedly abusing daughter[Laramie Boomerang 2/25/15 by Chilton Tippin]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update:”A former Laramie foster parent pleaded not guilty Thursday in Albany County District Court to 11 charges of first-degree sexual assault of a minor, less than two months after being sentenced for similar charges in Converse County District Court.

Seven of the felony charges filed in Albany County against Stephen James Calderon, 31, were charged under a section of Wyoming law in which the perpetrator is at least 21 and the victim younger than 13; the remaining four counts were charged under a separate section in which the perpetrator is at least 18 and holds a position of authority over a victim younger than 16.

If convicted of all 11 counts, Calderon could face up to 550 years in prison and $110,000 in fines.

Trial was set for July 7, but defense attorney Ian Sandefer said Thursday his client intended to enter a change of plea in the future.

Calderon is currently in the custody of the Wyoming Department of Corrections.

Court documents allege the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit determined Calderon produced and shared child pornography in Laramie and Douglas; the Laramie Police Department was contacted in September 2014 about child sexual abuse reported to the Converse County Sheriff’s Office.

In an interview with a Converse County deputy Aug. 29, 2014, Calderon acknowledged sexually abusing three children in his care in Laramie during the course of a year-and-a-half, all of whom were younger than 16 at the time, documents state. The abuse was reported to take place from about January 2013-June 2014.

Calderon reportedly said he thought the oldest of the three children “wanted more than a foster dad” and couldn’t stop himself from pursuing the child sexually, according to the documents.

In 2014, Calderon was charged in Converse County with multiple counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor in a separate criminal case involving a young girl in Douglas.

According to a judgment and sentence filed with the Converse County Clerk of District Court’s Office, Calderon pleaded guilty Oct. 15 to four counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor in that case. He was sentenced Jan. 21 to 30-50 years in prison for two of the counts, to run concurrently, followed by 45-50 years of supervised probation; the remaining two counts, which each carry underlying sentences of 25-50 years in prison and run concurrently, were suspended.

Calderon was also ordered to pay $3,907.50 in restitution to Wyoming Victims Compensation in addition to court assessments.”

Man denies sex abuse charges [Laramie Boomerang 3/11/16 by Nuria Mathog]

Update 2:”A man convicted in Converse County District Court of sex crimes against children previously in his care pleaded guilty to similar charges and was sentenced to spend decades in prison Wednesday in Albany County District Court.

Stephen James Calderon, 32, pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of sexual assault of a minor in the first degree and one count of sexual exploitation of children.

Judge Jeffrey Donnell sentenced Calderon to 30-50 years imprisonment on two counts of sexual abuse of a minor, to run concurrent with each other and with an identical sentence imposed after Calderon pleaded guilty to similar charges in Converse County.

Calderon will also serve 10-12 years in prison on the sexual exploitation conviction. Calderon admitted Wednesday to creating or manufacturing child pornography by recording sexual acts he committed against a child. The 10-12 year sentence will run consecutively to the other sentences.

Donnell also handed down a 25-50 year suspended sentence on each of the two remaining sexual assault charges, also to run concurrently with each other and with identical suspended sentences imposed in Converse County. Instead, when Calderon finishes his initial 30-50 year sentence, he will be released on 45 years of probation.

If he violates any one of the 38 terms of that probation, he would be returned to prison to serve the full 25-50 year term.

“That will be, in effect, a life sentence,” Donnell said.

Prosecutor Kurt Britzius said Wednesday he believes the sentence is structured appropriately, but feels it does not go far enough to satisfy the retribution demanded by Calderon’s crimes.

Defense attorney Ian Sandefer called the 25- to 50-year prison term underlying Calderon’s probation “a pretty big hammer hanging over his head,” which Britzius felt was appropriate.

“He can make a choice to control himself or not,” Britzius said. “And if he does not, he can die in prison.”

“For what Mr. Calderon did, I don’t think there’s a term of incarceration that’s long enough,” Britzius said.

Donnell agreed and explained his reasoning for imposing a consecutive prison term on the sexual exploitation conviction, which stems from Calderon’s admission that he recorded sex crimes he committed against a child previously in his care and posted the images online.

“It’s like a bullet — once you send it, you can never get it back,” Donnell said. “That adds a whole new element and, in my opinion, deserves a separate punishment.”

“I hardly know what else to say,” Donnell added. “In twenty years in this business I don’t know that I’ve seen a case of abuse and manipulation like what I’ve seen here.”

Calderon has been imprisoned for roughly two years while the case worked its way through the courts.

Defense attorney Ian Sandefer said Wednesday that Calderon was remorseful and at the mercy of the court.

“This is a man that is truly sorry,” Sandefer said. “He has clearly lost everything in his life.”

Britzius said the plea deal accomplished the state’s goal of keeping the victims off the witness stand, which Donnell said would prevent additional trauma.

“It’s bad enough that it happened,” Donnell said. “It’s worse that the system requires that we, in effect, put them through it again.”

Calderon was initially charged with 11 counts of sexual assault of a minor in the first degree and one count of sexual exploitation of children in Albany County District Court. The remaining charges were dismissed per the plea agreement.

Calderon had been scheduled to stand trial in Albany County District Court beginning July 6. He was previously sentenced to 30-50 years in prison and 45 years on supervised probation after pleading guilty to similar charges in Converse County.

An affidavit from a Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agent says the agent received three tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on August 25, 2014 in regard to child pornography uploaded to Microsoft Skydrive. The IP address an email address tied to the upload were associated with Calderon.

The Division’s Computer Crime Team Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force executed a search warrant at Calderon’s Douglas apartment four days after the tip was received. During the search, Calderon reportedly admitted to photographing his sexual contact with a child.

The affidavit goes on to say the DCI agent searched Calderon’s Dropbox, Google and Microsoft accounts. Dropbox reportedly provided data that revealed child pornography on Calderon’s account.

GPS coordinates within the files’ Exchangeable Image File Format data revealed that the pictures were taken near Calderon’s old address in Laramie.

Converse County District Court Judge John C. Brooks sentenced Calderon in January to 30-50 years in prison followed by 45-50 years on supervised probation and ordered him to pay $3,907 in restitution after Calderon admitted Oct. 15 to sexually abusing three foster children in his care from January 2013 to June 2014 while in Laramie. Calderon pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree.”

Former Laramie Foster Parent Sentenced to 40-62 Years in Prison for Sex Crimes

[Kowb 6/22/16 by Nick Learned]