How Could You? Hall of Shame-Jesse Blackburn case

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 Uniontown, Pennsylvania, “Jesse Blackburn said he wants more oversight of foster care in Pennsylvania. The 31-year-old Uniontown man said he was abused by the grown son of his foster parents 16 years ago.

Blackburn may look like any dad enjoying playtime with his young sons, but he said every day is a struggle.

“Outbursts of crying, hopelessness. Sometimes I get real suicidal,” Blackburn said. “It’s hard to describe the mental wreck that happens to somebody suffering from abuse.”

Blackburn said he was abused while living in a foster home in Osterburg, Bedford County, in 2002. At the time, he was 15.

According to a lawsuit, Blackburn’s foster parents had two grown sons who lived with them at the foster home. The parents allegedly allowed them to supervise Blackburn and the other foster children on their own, despite the fact that both of the sons had criminal records.

The lawsuit said the brothers frequently gave Blackburn and another boy alcohol and drugs. During one of those incidents, one of the brothers — Sam Hopkins Jr. — allegedly molested Blackburn.

“Once we were pretty inebriated, he started instructing us to do some very inappropriate things,” Blackburn said.

In a video deposition of Hopkins Jr. obtained by Action News Investigates, he pleaded the Fifth Amendment to avoid incriminating himself.

Records show that before Blackburn moved into the Hopkins home, Hopkins Jr. had a criminal history that included convictions for burglary, assault and battery, bad checks and DUI. His brother, Steven Hopkins, had convictions for rape, battery and DUI.

Professional Family Care Services is the foster care agency that placed Blackburn. It is based in Johnstown but has done work throughout Western Pennsylvania, including more than $200,000 in contracts with Allegheny County.

PFCS director Lynette Gruca said in a deposition she knew nothing about the Hopkins brothers’ criminal history.

In court filings, PFCS denied that the Hopkins sons ever lived at the foster home. Had they lived there or been caretakers, “appropriate background checks would have been done,” PFCS said.

The foster parents also denied that their sons ever lived at the house for more than a few days.

But another PFCS employee testified she had seen the Hopkins sons at the home there on multiple occasions, and another foster child testified that Hopkins Jr. lived at the home for months at a time.

Samuel Hopkins Sr. — Blackburn’s foster father and the biological father of Steven and Samuel Hopkins — testified that he himself was not aware of their entire criminal history.

“The boys don’t come forward and say, ‘Hey dad, I was just arrested for this or that,'” Hopkins Sr. said.

Gruca said in her deposition that if the Hopkins sons were living at the home and she knew about their criminal histories, “We would not have allowed children to live in that home under those circumstances.”

Gruca declined a request for an interview. In a statement, she said, “Professional Family Care Services is dedicated to providing services that promote the safety, development and wellbeing of children. We always follow all laws, regulations and best practice to protect children and provide quality care.”

Foster parents Linda and Samuel Hopkins Sr. and their son, Samuel Jr., declined to comment.

Steven Hopkins is serving an eight-to-20-year prison sentence after being convicted of rape in 2005.

Blackburn said he kept his abuse a secret until he became a father himself.

“It was my job, my responsibility as a victim to speak up and to stop him from ever doing that to anybody else ever again,” Blackburn said.

Three years ago, he said he reported his abuse to state police but the Bedford County district attorney never filed charges. Blackburn said that was “extremely painful.”

Earlier this year, that district attorney, Bill Higgins, pleaded guilty to multiple charges that he protected drug dealers and got sexual favors from defendants in exchange for light sentences.

Higgins’ conviction has no connection to Blackburn’s case, but Blackburn has asked the new DA to take a fresh look at his case. He said he wants the foster care system and his abuser to be held accountable.

“To me, it says that the children are not the number one concern of the system, and they should be,” Blackburn said.

Blackburn’s lawsuit is still pending in Allegheny County. If there is a settlement, he said he will donate the proceeds to a foster care charity.”

Foster care abuse victim speaks out

[Wtae 11/19/18 by Paul Van Osdol]

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