How Could You? Hall of Shame-Nikki and Larry Russell 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 Terre Haute, Indiana, adoptive parents Nikki Russell, 35,  and Larry Russell, 39, have been charged with “three counts of neglect of a dependent and three counts criminal confinement” on their three adopted children. Their biological child does not appear to be harmed according to current reports.

“Five [later reports say three] Terre Haute children spent the holiday weekend in the custody of the Department of Child Services, after their parents were arrested.

Police say that a boy was picked up on Friday by a motorist and taken to Union Hospital after he was seen walking on U.S. 41 with out shoes.

The 17-year old had jumped out of the second story window of his home after his foster parents locked him and his siblings in their room and refused them thanksgiving dinner.
Upon further investigation authorities say that the children living in the home had been beaten, ducked taped [sic] to their beds and were malnourished.”

“”I’ve never seen what’s described by these children, and injuries that were sustained in the conditions that they were living in, I’ve never seen anything this bad. It’s one of the worst probably ever, if not the worst I’ve ever seen,” said THPD Asst. Chief Shawn Keen

Nikki and Larry Russell are set to appear in court on Wednesday [November 28, 2012.]”

Terre Haute Foster Parents Arrested

[WBIW 11/27/12 ]

“A Terre Haute couple is facing several charges for what is being called by police as one of the worst case of child abuse they have seen.

Police say that 39 year old Larry Russell, and 35 year old Nikki Russell, are being held on $100,000 cash bond and will be in court Wednesday.

Police report that they found a 17 year old male who was living in foster care with the Russell’s,  walking near 3^rd street and 8^th avenue with no shoes.

The boy told police that he and several other children had been tied up and that he escaped and was on his way to try and find help from police.

The 17-year-old weighed only about 93 pounds and had marks consistent with abuse.

There we [sic] also tales of denying the children food and pour urine on them to teach them a lesson.

It’s unclear just how long some of these acts had been occurring.”

Terre Haute Foster Parents Accused Of Abuse

[WIBQ 11/27/12]

“Locked in a nearly empty second-floor bedroom, three adopted boys shared their meager Thanksgiving Day dinner: two microwave burritos and a half glass of water.

Downstairs in the Terre Haute home, Larry and Nikki Russell shared a holiday feast with their biological son and another adopted child.

 

Later that day, as families across America enjoyed time together and gave thanks for the blessings in their lives, the bizarre treatment inside the Russell home allegedly turned violent.

 

The hands of the oldest adopted boy, who is 17, were bound. He was “back handed” across the face. Blood flowed from his nose and down his cheek. Balled up socks were stuffed in his and his adopted brother’s mouths, then covered with duct tape.

 

The next day, the teen broke out a window from his second-story prison and jumped to the ground. Looking for help, he soon made it to Union Hospital, where officials called police and the Department of Child Services to investigate a possible case of abuse.

What the boy told investigators was a horrifying tale of ongoing abuse and confinement that shocked even veteran investigators.

 

“In my 19 years with the police force,” Assistant Police Chief Shawn Keen said at a press conference, “I’ve never seen before what’s been described by these children, the injuries they sustained and the condition in which they lived.”

 

The boy said he and some of the other children in the couple’s care were bound and beaten. They were doused with urine. They were forced to go without food and water. One boy even described an incident in which the father forced another boy to apply IcyHot to his genitals and in his rectum.

 

Larry Russell, 39, and Nikki Russell, 35, were being held Tuesday in Vigo County Jail under $100,000 bond each. They face preliminary felony charges of criminal confinement and child neglect.

 

A report filed by Terre Haute Detective Travis Chesshir said the couple acknowledged some of the boy’s allegations, but denied others.

 

While the teenage victim told police the Russells were his foster parents, DCS spokeswoman Stephanie McFarland said the children were not wards of the state at the time.

McFarland said she could confirm that the Russells had been foster parents and had adopted the children earlier this year.

 

Who is caring for the children, or their whereabouts, was unclear Tuesday.

 

The boy told investigators abuse was a way of life in the home.

 

He said the couple tied him and the two other adopted boys to their beds with duct tape and a yellow rope, then locked the room from the outside so they could not get out. He added “the Russells also boarded up the windows and removed the light bulb from the room while he and his brothers were locked inside,” Det. Chesshir’s report said.

 

The investigator wrote that he saw abrasions on the boy’s wrists and ankles “consistent with being tied to a bed” and also observed the boy had a bloody nose and dried blood in his ear.

 

The Tribune Star reported the boy, who weighed only 93 pounds, was barefoot when a motorist picked him up Friday and took him to the hospital.

 

After interviewing the boy at the hospital, investigators went to the couple’s home. They reported finding “the yellow rope, locks on the doors and duct tape on (the boys’) bed posts.”

 

In an interview with police, Nikki Russell “advised that Larry was the one who had tied the boys up and she was the one who struck (the boy) in the face,” Chesshir reported.

 

“Nikki admitted to pouring urine on the boys in the bath tub and admitted to her and Larry confining the boys in their room with the door padlocked from the outside,” according to the detective’s report.

 

The report said Nikki Russell also admitted she and her husband had deprived some of the children of food on several occasions.

 

Larry Russell told police he had locked  some of the children in their room, but denied they were ever tied up and blamed his wife for depriving them of food.

 

Nikki and Larry Russell are scheduled to appear today in Vigo Superior Court.”

Terre Haute couple accused of confining, abusing children

[The Indianapolis Star 11/27/12 by Tim Evans]

REFORM Puzzle Pieces

Abuse was the way of life and they were adopted from foster care earlier this year? Where the heck were the social workers?

Update: “One boy told police about a horrific incident  where Larry Russell allegedly forced another boy to apply IcyHot – a pain  relieving heat rub cream – to his genitals and rectum.

Police said the alleged abuse apparently came  as punishment for stealing food or bladder problems. In another occasion, the  parents allegedly taped a ‘pull-up’ diaper to one of the boys.

During his interview with police, the  teenager said he had escaped and planned to walk to the courthouse so he could  get help.”

“Terre Haute Detective Travis Chesshir said the  couple acknowledged some of the boy’s allegations, but denied others – and  blamed much of the alleged abuse on each other.”

Couple ‘tied up and starved their three adopted children – before sharing a Thanksgiving feast with their biological son’

[Daily Mail 11/28/12 by Lydia Warren]

“Six criminal counts of child neglect and five counts of criminal confinement have been filed against a Terre Haute couple accused of “cruelly” tying their children to beds with ropes and duct tape, and with denying their children food, water and access to a bathroom.
Larry D. Russell Jr., 39, and Nikki L. Russell, 35, appeared via video today in Vigo Superior Court 6 where Judge Michael Lewis appointed the couple separate public defenders and ordered them each held on $100,000 bond.
Nikki Russell faces an additional two counts of battery by bodily waste for allegedly pouring urine on two boys, and a count of battery resulting in bodily injury for allegedly slapping one boy hard enough to make his nose bleed.
Each defendant faces about 48 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
Prosecutor Terry Modesitt said today in a news conference that the five minor children living with the Russells have been placed in foster care.
Modesitt also said that additional charges are likely in the case as investigators learn more about the alleged abuse of the children that occurred in the home on North 12th Street.”

Neglect case carries possible 48-year prison sentence

[The Tribune Star 11/28/12]

“Neighbors said they knew the home was trouble; many recounted an incident from a couple months ago where at least six squad cars were lined up outside the home on reports that shots were fired.
“There were SWAT guys going down the alley,” said Angie Decker, 41, who lives two doors down. “I’ve never seen something like that.”
Decker said she saw a couple kids at the home, but said she had no idea the couple had five — four of whom were adopted.
But Bonnie Butler, 67, who lives on the other side of Decker’s house, said she knew something was “not right” with the family.
Butler said she saw one of the children waiting for a school bus a few months ago, acting odd and gesticulating wildly.
“I felt like I should have called someone,” she said. “You have a gut feeling about it.””

Neighbors wondered about couple accused of child abuse

[The Indianapolis Star 11/28/12 by Jill Disis]

“Prosecutors filed charges Wednesday against a Terre Haute couple accused of beating, confining and starving children in their care.

Larry Russell was charged with 11 courts of neglect and abuse; Nikki Russell was charged with those same counts plus three more, one of which alleges she used urine to abuse one of the children in her care.

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt said investigators have just scratched the surface of the abuse.

“It’s still under investigation,” Modesitt said. “It’s very possible there could be additional charges at a later point.”

Modesitt called the abuse one of the most “appalling” things his office has ever seen.

The Russells appeared at a hearing Wednesday via video screen before Vigo County Superior Court Judge Michael Lewis.

Larry Russell requested that he be removed from jail and placed under house arrested so he could continue working. “I talked to my boss this morning,” Russell said. “I still have my job.”

Lewis denied the request.

The Russells adopted three of their children April 13.”

“In an interview with police, Nikki Russell “advised that Larry was the one who had tied the boys up and she was the one who struck (the boy) in the face,” Chesshir reported.

“Nikki admitted to pouring urine on the boys in the bath tub and admitted to her and Larry confining the boys in their room with the door padlocked from the outside,” according to the detective’s report.

The report said Nikki Russell also admitted she and her husband had deprived some of the children of food on several occasions.

Larry Russell told police he had locked some of the children in their room, but denied they were ever tied up and blamed his wife for depriving them of food.

A month after the children were adopted, Larry Russell was arrested on a preliminary battery charge against Nikki Russell.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Larry Russell threatened her with a handgun and may have fired shots. Their children were listed as witnesses on that affidavit.

An order barring Larry Russell from contacting Nikki Russell was issued, but Nikki Russell requested that it be dropped.

It was, and charges against Larry Russell were deferred until next year.

Modesitt said he was aware of that case but did not have more information.

“We are looking at all angles at this point,” he said, noting that the case is still in the early stages of investigation.””

Ind. couple charged with abusing adopted children

[USA Today 11/28/12 by Jill Disis]

Update 2: “The biological mother of three Indiana children who police say were kept in locked, darkened rooms where they were restrained to beds with duct tape and rope and deprived of food and water by their adoptive parents says she was angered to learn about the conditions.

“I’m pretty outraged about it, because it involves my children,” Christina Joiner told the Terre Haute Tribune-Star

Joiner, who now lives in Monroe County, called the newspaper last week after reading about the arrests of Larry Russell, 39, and Nikki Russell, 35, of Terre Haute. She said she gave her daughter and two sons up for adoption hoping they would have a better life.

“I thought I was doing the right thing, and come to find out it wasn’t,” she said.

The Russells are each charged with six counts of neglect of a dependent and five counts of criminal confinement. Nikki Russell also is charged with two counts of battery by body waste and battery resulting in bodily injury. Not guilty pleas were entered for them when they appeared in court Wednesday, and Judge Michael Lewis ordered public defenders appointed for them. Each is being held on $100,000 cash bond.

Joiner said the Indiana Department of Child Services began investigating her as a parent in 2006 or 2007 because of repeated reports of filth in her homer. She said the children always had food and clothes, but she was urged by the agency to sign papers to terminate her parental rights.

The Russells finalized the adoption of the three children in April. They also have another adopted son and a child of their own.

Joiner wants to know why DCS wasn’t aware of the conditions her children were living under with their adoptive parents.

Agency spokeswoman Stephanie McFarland said in an email to the newspaper that federal and state laws prohibit the department from speaking about a case because of confidentiality. She did offer information on adoption cases in general.

“Once the court has granted adoption of a child to an individual or couple, the children are no longer wards of the state, and DCS no longer has legal authority to be involved with the family. The only time in which DCS could intervene is if it received a report of abuse or neglect — as in this case,” McFarland wrote.

The department got involved when a 17-year-old boy, who is not one of Joiner’s children, told police he escaped from the home the day after Thanksgiving.

The boy also police that Nikki Russell would hold his and his adopted brother’s heads under running water in the bathtub while their hands were tied behind their backs with a belt to try to get them “to talk.” He said Larry Russell once made one of the boys put the pain relief products Icy Hot on his genitals and in his rectum.

Larry Russell is due in court with a lawyer on Monday. Nikki Rusell is scheduled to appear with her attorney on Friday.”

Biological mother outraged about conditions Ind. children living under with adoptive parents

[Greenfield Reporter 12/2/12 by The Associated Press]

“When asked how a person with a criminal history can become a foster parent, she quoted foster care licensing guidelines and practices.
“Before anyone can become a foster parent, he/she/they must go through three background checks: an FBI background check; another with the state that checks for any history of substantiated reports of child abuse or neglect; and another against the sex-offender registry. In addition, prospective foster parents must go through a series of home inspections to assess the family and living conditions, and complete training. All of this can take six months or longer to complete. In addition, foster parents are reviewed annually to maintain their license. A foster-home license is good for four years.”
Larry Russell had been arrested in May on a charge of domestic battery. That arrest occurred after the adoption of Joiner’s three children in April. That case was deferred in September. He had also been arrested for domestic battery in June 1996. That case was deferred in December 1996, and the charges were dismissed in May 2000.
Nikki Russell had no prior criminal history, but she was the victim in a criminal recklessness case filed against her father in October 2002. In that case, Willie Nesbit Sr. was arrested for allegedly firing a shotgun in the direction of his adult daughter, Nikki. Nesbit pleaded guilty in 2003 and received an 18-month suspended sentence.
McFarland declined comment about the criminal history of Larry Russell, noting that the most recent domestic violence incident occurred after the adoption was finalized.
As to how DCS could overlook the children’s living conditions as they were found by police, no DCS comment was made.
However, McFarland did write: “When a child is in foster care, a DCS family case-manager is assigned to the case — along with service providers, court liaisons (CASAs) and other community professionals who work with the family directly, often times in the home, and help to act as eyes and ears to what’s happening with the children. Case managers meet with the children directly at least once every 30 days, but DCS also gets reports and input from community professionals throughout the month regarding care and progress. That information is part of a case file that is also shared with the county court system. Part of every child’s foster care is a permanency plan, which is a plan to either safely reunite the children with their family of origin (where they were removed), to be placed in the care of a relative (who would act as a guardian), or to be adopted with court approval.”

Mom ‘outraged’ at kids’ living condition

[Trib Star 12/2/12 by Lisa Trigg]

Update 3: “An Oct. 15 trial date has been set for a Terre Haute man arrested in November for child neglect after he and his wife allegedly tied up and confined their adopted children in the family home.

Larry Russell, 39, appeared via video for a hearing in Vigo Superior Court 1 on Wednesday, where Judge John Roach ordered that Russell is allowed to have supervised visits with his biological son.

His wife Nikki Russell, 36, recently received a new trial date of Aug. 26.

The Russells both remain incarcerated in the Vigo County Jail with bail set at $100,000 cash only.

Russell and his wife Nikki were arrested Nov. 23, 2012 after police investigated statements made by a 17-year-old boy, who said he escaped his adoptive parents’ home on North 12th Street by breaking out a second-floor window. The teen told police that he and his siblings were tied to beds using rope and duct tape, that they were deprived of food, and that they had been beaten.

Both Larry and Nikki Russell face six counts of child neglect and five counts of criminal confinement. Nikki Russell also faces two counts of battery by bodily waste and one count of battery resulting in bodily injury for a total of 14 criminal charges.”

Man accused of child neglect gets new trial date

[Trib Star 5/23/13]

Update 4:”Nikki Russell, 35, of Terra Haute, Ind. was sentenced to 21 years in prison on Nov. 19 after pleading guilty to multiple charges in what investigators have called one of the most appalling cases of abuse they’ve ever seen.

Nikki Russell faced six counts of child neglect, five counts of criminal confinement, two counts of battery by bodily waste, and one count of battery resulting in bodily injury – for a grand total of 14 criminal charges, according to WTHITV.

Nikki Russell’s husband, Larry Russell, 39, also of Terra Haute, was sentenced to 24 years in prison earlier this month in the same case,

Nikki and Larry Russell cruelly beat, imprisoned, and starved the adopted children under their care.

Larry Russell was charged with 11 counts of neglect and abuse; Nikki Russell was charged with those same counts plus three more, one of which alleges she used urine to abuse one of the children in her care. ~ USA Today

Nikki and Larry Russell were arrested in Nov. 2012 after one of their four adopted sons managed to escape from the home where he was being confined by his parents and make his way to a local hospital where he tried to seek help for his two siblings.

When police got to the Russell home with a search warrant, they “found their other adopted children locked in a room, beaten and covered with bodily fluid.”

In total, five children lived in the Russell home, one biological son who by all accounts was treated fairly well, and four foster sons who were all later legally adopted by the Russells. The four adopted sons were all treated like animals.

The Tribune-Star reported that when police were called to the hospital on behalf of the 17-year-old boy who escaped from the Russell’s house of horrors, that police described him as underweight, with “dried blood on his face and bearing visible signs of ligature marks on his arms where he had been tied to an object.”

The teen told police that he and two brothers had been locked in an upstairs bedroom with no access to food, water or bathroom facilities. The teen told police that he and another brother had been tied with rope to their beds, had their mouths stuffed with socks and covered with duct tape, and had been beaten and tortured.

Police found that the padlocked room shared by the adopted boys was devoid of any personal items like toys or posters. The only things in the room were beds.

The mattresses had springs showing through, and there were drops of blood found on the floor and the bed, along with a piece of plywood used to block the window.

The daring 17-year-old who only weighed 82 pounds when he managed to escape to the hospital, told police that he and his adopted brothers were regularly tied up and beaten by the Russells, were routinely forced to go without food and water, and were often doused with urine.

One boy even described an incident in which the father forced another boy to apply Icy Hot to his genitals and in his rectum.

On Thanksgiving, after three adopted boys ate a meager meal of two microwave burritos and a half glass of water, the hands of the oldest adopted boy, who is 17, were bound. He was “back handed” across the face. Blood flowed from his nose and down his cheek. Balled up socks were stuffed in his and his adopted brother’s mouths, then covered with duct tape.

At Larry Russell’s sentencing hearing, Superior Court Judge John Roach said:

“This is more than just ‘I didn’t have the skills to parent these kids. It’s significantly more than just a single incident of bad parenting and bad judgment.”

“You took them in. You locked them up. And you treated them like animals.”

After Nikki Russell’s sentencing yesterday, Terre Haute Police Detective Travis Chessir said that he wishes all the best for the adopted children in their future lives, and that he hopes they get some satisfaction from the fact that both adoptive parents were sentenced to the maximum jail sentences possible.

The detective said that it was by far the worst case of abuse he’d ever seen.”

“[U]nder Ind. law, Nikki Russell will only have to serve the maximum of 10 years.

Under the same Ind. state sentencing laws, Larry Russell will most likely be free in about four years.”

Adoptive parents sentenced to 21 and 24 years in jail on child abuse charges[The Examiner 11/20/13 By Richard Webster]

Update 4:“The attorney for a Terre Haute man whose 10-year sentence for confining three adopted children to their bedroom was thrown out on appeal says she’s taking the case to the Indiana Supreme Court.

The Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled the trial judge improperly capped Larry Russell’s sentence at 10 years. It says he can either be resentenced under his plea agreement to up to 56 years or he can have the deal thrown out.

Russell’s attorney, Cara Schaefer Wieneke, said Tuesday she was surprised by the ruling and will petition the Indiana Supreme Court to take up the case. She says Russell appealed the sentence because he wasn’t happy with it.

Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt says he’s pleased with the opportunity to seek a longer sentence for Russell.

Russell, along with his wife Nikki Russell, was charged with six counts of neglect of a dependent and five counts of criminal confinement last year. Nikki Russell also was charged with two counts of battery by body waste and battery resulting in bodily injury.”

10-year confinement sentence thrown out on appeal[WTHR 6/10/14 by Associated Press]

Update 5: Here is Nikki’s appeal http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/09121401tac.pdf

Update 6: “A Vigo County court has been instructed to clarify a confusing sentencing order for a Terre Haute woman convicted of child neglect.

In a decision issued Friday, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the 10-year prison sentence of Nikki Russell, who admitted to neglecting and the criminal confinement of her three adopted children in 2012. She was sentenced in November 2013 to a sentence limited to no more than 10 years.

However, the appeals court notes that the “sentencing order and abstract of judgment are somewhat confusing in that the trial court ordered a 21-year aggregate sentence and also ordered that the aggregate sentence be limited to 10 years.” The appeals court has asked Vigo Superior Court 1 to clarify its sentencing order to conform with the plea agreement.

Russell’s attorney on the appeal, Mark Small of Indianapolis, told the Tribune-Star that an issue also existed with the Department of Correction in determining the length of imprisonment for Russell. Small said that his client’s previous prison release date had been incorrectly calculated, but has since been corrected by the DOC.

Nikki Russell’s husband Larry was also convicted of child neglect and criminal confinement in connection with that case.”

 

Appeals court affirms Nikki Russell’s neglect sentence [Trib Star  9/15/14 by Lisa Trigg]

Update 7: “When Larry and Nikki Russell were charged with neglecting their three adopted children in 2012, Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt said the case was one of the most “appalling” his office had ever seen.

Tied to “decrepit” beds, their mouths stuffed with socks and covered with duct tape. Fed only two frozen burritos and half a glass of water while the Russells enjoyed a “Thanksgiving feast” one floor below. Doused in urine as “a lesson.”

Now adults, Isaiah, Miley and Jace Huey are suing DCS and their adoptive parents, alleging a series of systemic failures at DCS placed them and others in the foster care system in “serious and unconstitutional danger.”

“By placing Plaintiffs in the Russells’ care,” the lawsuit, filed in a district court on Friday, reads, “despite their knowledge of the danger that the Russells posed, DCS Defendants were the proximate cause of the shocking abuse that Plaintiffs received at the hands of the Russells.”

A spokeswoman for DCS said the agency did not have a comment regarding the lawsuit. IndyStar could not find working phone numbers associated with Larry or Nikki Russell.

Police were alerted to the abuse in late November 2012, after the then-17-year-old escaped the home through the bedroom window and was found barefoot, face bloodied, with visible abrasions on his arms. He weighed just 93 pounds.

Larry was charged with 11 counts of neglect and abuse; Nikki was charged with 14, including one that alleged she used urine to abuse one of the children.

Both Larry and Nikki later pleaded guilty to multiple charges of neglect and received 24- and 10-year sentences, respectively. Both were released from the Indiana Department of Correction in 2017, according to online jail records.

“This has been an arduous course for these children,” the Hueys’ attorney, Andrea Ciobanu, told IndyStar. “They are looking forward to having their voice heard in court.”

The children were placed in foster care with the Russells in spring 2007 and were officially adopted in April 2012, according to the lawsuit. One other adopted child and the Russels’ biological child also lived in the home.

But the lawsuit alleges Larry Russell had a previous history of domestic violence against Nikki that was overlooked by DCS and that the violence continued after the children were placed in their home. In May 2012, approximately one month after the adoption was finalized, Larry was charged with domestic battery following an incident allegedly involving a handgun that took place in front of the children. (At the time of the November arrest, that case had been deferred. Larry was later found guilty in 2013, online court records show.)

“Given the Russells’ history,” the lawsuit reads, “DCS Defendants should never have placed Plaintiffs with the Russells or sanctioned the adoption.”

The Hueys were relegated to an upstairs bedroom, where the Russells boarded up the window and removed all lights, leaving them with just three beds and no personal items. They say the Russells subjected them to physical, sexual, mental and emotional abuse “for the entirety of their placement” in the home.

It was on Thanksgiving 2012 that the children were given a meager meal, the 17-year-old was slapped in the face, causing his nose to bleed. He and his adopted brother then had socks stuffed in their mouths and covered with duct tape, IndyStar reported at the time

The next day, the 17-year-old escaped and alerted authorities to the abuse.

Investigators later found yellow rope, locks on the doors and duct tape on the kids’ bed posts.

Nikki told police at the time that Larry had tied the boys up and struck the 17-year-old in the face, and admitted to pouring urine on the children in the bathtub, according to court documents. She also admitted that she and Larry padlocked the children’s bedroom door from the outside and that they had deprived the children of food on several occasions.

Larry told police he had locked some of the children in their room, according to court documents, but denied tying them up and blamed Nikki for depriving them of food.

Most of the incidents were alleged to have taken place between Aug. 23 and Nov. 23, 2012, but the lead detective told IndyStar at that time the 17-year-old was likely to have been starved for even longer, given the state of his malnutrition.

At his sentencing, Vigo Superior Court Judge John Roach castigated Larry for his mistreatment of the children.

“This is more than just ‘I didn’t have the skills to parent these kids,’” Roach said, according to the Terre Haute Tribune-Star. “It’s significantly more than just a single incident of bad parenting and bad judgement.

“You took them in. You locked them up. And you treated them like animals.”

Lawsuit alleges DCS’ systemic failures placed children in danger

In their lawsuit, the Hueys allege a series of systemic failures within Indiana DCS contributed to their abuse and placed other children in the foster care system in danger.

They cite a letter written by former DCS Director Mary Beth Bonaventura upon her 2017 resignation, warning Gov. Eric Holcomb that the system’s failings place children at risk in manners that “all but ensure children will die.”

High turnover rates, poor training and overwhelming caseloads resulted in inexperienced, unprepared and overworked case managers, the Hueys allege, and those factors result in the hurried placements of children in “inappropriate” foster care homes across the state.

In 2012, a DCS spokeswoman told IndyStar that, unlike foster parents, adoptive parents are not subject to annual inspections and monthly evaluation, as children are no longer considered wards of the state once their adoption is finalized.

Families can be referred to post-adoption services for “individualized, comprehensive and sustainable” aid, according to 2019 service standards posted to the DCS website.

The Hueys allege the Russells subjected them to intentional infliction of emotional distress and battery, and that DCS failed to fulfill its fiduciary duty to care for their “physical, emotional and psychological well-being” and violated their constitutional rights to due process and equal protection.

With the filing, the Hueys seek compensatory and punitive damages, as well as any other relief the court deems appropriate, including attorney’s fees and a public apology.”

Children in 2012 abuse case sue DCS, allege agency put them in ‘unconstitutional danger’
[Indy Star 2/15/21 by Holly D. Hays]