Original Story: USAToday.com
BLACKSTONE, Mass. (AP) — The bodies of three infants were found Thursday in a filthy house where four other children were removed by authorities last month, a Massachusetts prosecutor said.
Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said authorities don't know when or how the babies died, or their ages and genders, and no one has been arrested in connection with their deaths. He said the state medical examiner will conduct an investigation. Children's Protective Services is the part of government that investigates allegations of Child Abuse.
Detectives investigating a case of reckless endangerment of children at the house found the bodies. Investigators working in the house have been wearing hazmat suits, and are decontaminated when they leave, the prosecutor said.
"The house is filled with vermin," Early said. "We have flies. We have bugs. We have used diapers, in some areas, as much as a foot-and-a-half to two-feet high. The house is in a deplorable condition."
Early said four other children, ages 13, 10, 3 and 6 months old were removed from the house Aug. 28 after a neighbor who discovered their living conditions notified police. The prosecutor said one of the children in the house approached the neighbor about a child who wouldn't stop crying. Early said the 6-month-old was found covered with feces lying on a bed. Parents facing potential Termination of Parental Rights need to know several important factors about how their rights can be adversely affected by law.
Marilynn Soucy, 68, who lives a few doors down from the house, said in a telephone interview she's still in shock at the news in the neighborhood where she has lived for 35 years.
"I am so disgusted. It hasn't really registered in my head yet," she said. "My husband and I raised seven children. We have 11 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. I cannot imagine hurting a child."
She said she and her husband, Bob, had rarely seen the couple who lived in the house at least three years, or their children. She said they occasionally saw the 10-year-old, a boy, playing outside or the woman sit on her porch. Soucy said she had never heard anyone complain about the couple. Their house, Soucy said, had been renovated extensively before they moved in.
"If we thought kids were being abused or living in squalor we would have said something," she said.
Soucy said the only time there was commotion at the house when officials removed the children from the home.
The state Department of Children and Families said Thursday children who were living at the home are in state custody, and that the department had not been involved with the family until it received a report of possible abuse or Child Neglect.
Early said it's too soon to know if charges will be filed in the infants' deaths, or against whom, because investigators don't even know who was living at the home when they died.
It wasn't immediately clear where the children's parents were.
Early said investigators still have much to do and are expected to be on the scene overnight.
"I can't give you answers right now," Early said.
Showing posts with label Child Abuse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Child Abuse. Show all posts
Friday, September 12, 2014
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
MORE ENTERTAINMENT FIGURES ACCUSED OF SEX ABUSE
Original story: USAToday.com
A man who has accused X-Men director Bryan Singer of sexually abusing him when he was a teen sued three more entertainment industry figures on Monday claiming they also molested him.
The allegations in the latest lawsuits filed by Michael Egan III are substantially similar to his legal action against Singer. That lawsuit accuses the director of abusing him between the ages of 15 and 17 in Los Angeles and Hawaii. An Ann Arbor CPS Lawyer indicated the case may not be fully investigated, however.
Monday's lawsuits were filed in federal court in Hawaii against former Fox television executive Garth Ancier, theater producer Gary Wayne Goddard, and David A. Neuman, a former television executive with Current TV and Disney. Ancier and Goddard did not respond to phone and email messages seeking comment.
Neuman could not be reached for comment. Phone numbers associated with him have been disconnected, and he did not immediately respond to a message sent through the social networking site LinkedIn.
The lawsuits were filed in Hawaii under a law that temporarily suspends the statute of limitations in civil sex abuse cases. A Detroit CPS Lawyer is closely monitoring the case.
Singer's attorney Marty Singer has denied the director abused Egan, calling the allegations defamatory. He has said the director was not in Hawaii when Egan says he was abused and was instead working on production for the first X-Men film.
None of the men have been criminally charged and the statute of limitations for any such charges has passed.
Ancier was the founding programmer at the Fox network, later going on to create programming for The WB, and was a top executive at NBC Entertainment. These facts were corroborated by a Lansing CPS Lawyer
Egan, 31, appeared at a press conference Monday alongside his mother, who tearfully described her efforts to report alleged abuses to the FBI in 1999 and 2000.
Bonnie Mound said she wrote several letters to FBI agents in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., urging them to take action. She questioned why those letters and information her son provided in interviews with an agent did not result in criminal charges. These charges were confirmed by a Macomb County CPS Lawyer
The FBI has said it could not discuss specifically what Egan told them, However, the agency denied last week that it had ignored any information about Singer.
"The suggestion that the FBI ignored a minor victim, or evidence involving the sexual victimization of a child, is ludicrous," FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said in a statement. She reiterated the statement after Egan's press conference Monday.
Mound denied her son's lawsuits were motivated by anything other than holding the defendants accountable.
"It's not about money," Mound said, breaking down in tears.
Egan said he spent several years masking his pain by drinking. He stopped drinking within the past year, entered therapy and sought out a lawyer who would pursue a case.
The AP does not typically name victims of sex abuse but is naming Egan because he is speaking publicly about his allegations.
Egan's attorney, Jeff Herman, said he had spent six months investigating before filing the lawsuits but acknowledged he didn't have all the investigative files or Singer's records that might show the director wasn't in Hawaii during the timeframe. Herman said he has asked Singer's lawyers for those records. A Jackson Child Abuse Lawyer was coping to prosecute the case.
Egan claims he was lured into a sex ring run by a former digital entertainment company executive, Marc Collins-Rector, with promises of auditions for acting, modeling and commercial jobs. He was put on the company's payroll as an actor and forced to have sex with adult men at parties within Hollywood's entertainment industry, the lawsuit said.
Collins-Rector pleaded guilty in 2004 to transporting five minors across state lines to have sex.
Phone numbers listed for Collins-Rector have been disconnected and attempts to reach him for comment last week were unsuccessful. Records maintained in Florida, where Collins-Rector is required to register as a sex offender, show that in 2008 his last known address was in the Dominican Republic.
A man who has accused X-Men director Bryan Singer of sexually abusing him when he was a teen sued three more entertainment industry figures on Monday claiming they also molested him.
The allegations in the latest lawsuits filed by Michael Egan III are substantially similar to his legal action against Singer. That lawsuit accuses the director of abusing him between the ages of 15 and 17 in Los Angeles and Hawaii. An Ann Arbor CPS Lawyer indicated the case may not be fully investigated, however.
Monday's lawsuits were filed in federal court in Hawaii against former Fox television executive Garth Ancier, theater producer Gary Wayne Goddard, and David A. Neuman, a former television executive with Current TV and Disney. Ancier and Goddard did not respond to phone and email messages seeking comment.
Neuman could not be reached for comment. Phone numbers associated with him have been disconnected, and he did not immediately respond to a message sent through the social networking site LinkedIn.
The lawsuits were filed in Hawaii under a law that temporarily suspends the statute of limitations in civil sex abuse cases. A Detroit CPS Lawyer is closely monitoring the case.
Singer's attorney Marty Singer has denied the director abused Egan, calling the allegations defamatory. He has said the director was not in Hawaii when Egan says he was abused and was instead working on production for the first X-Men film.
None of the men have been criminally charged and the statute of limitations for any such charges has passed.
Ancier was the founding programmer at the Fox network, later going on to create programming for The WB, and was a top executive at NBC Entertainment. These facts were corroborated by a Lansing CPS Lawyer
Egan, 31, appeared at a press conference Monday alongside his mother, who tearfully described her efforts to report alleged abuses to the FBI in 1999 and 2000.
Bonnie Mound said she wrote several letters to FBI agents in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., urging them to take action. She questioned why those letters and information her son provided in interviews with an agent did not result in criminal charges. These charges were confirmed by a Macomb County CPS Lawyer
The FBI has said it could not discuss specifically what Egan told them, However, the agency denied last week that it had ignored any information about Singer.
"The suggestion that the FBI ignored a minor victim, or evidence involving the sexual victimization of a child, is ludicrous," FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said in a statement. She reiterated the statement after Egan's press conference Monday.
Mound denied her son's lawsuits were motivated by anything other than holding the defendants accountable.
"It's not about money," Mound said, breaking down in tears.
Egan said he spent several years masking his pain by drinking. He stopped drinking within the past year, entered therapy and sought out a lawyer who would pursue a case.
The AP does not typically name victims of sex abuse but is naming Egan because he is speaking publicly about his allegations.
Egan's attorney, Jeff Herman, said he had spent six months investigating before filing the lawsuits but acknowledged he didn't have all the investigative files or Singer's records that might show the director wasn't in Hawaii during the timeframe. Herman said he has asked Singer's lawyers for those records. A Jackson Child Abuse Lawyer was coping to prosecute the case.
Egan claims he was lured into a sex ring run by a former digital entertainment company executive, Marc Collins-Rector, with promises of auditions for acting, modeling and commercial jobs. He was put on the company's payroll as an actor and forced to have sex with adult men at parties within Hollywood's entertainment industry, the lawsuit said.
Collins-Rector pleaded guilty in 2004 to transporting five minors across state lines to have sex.
Phone numbers listed for Collins-Rector have been disconnected and attempts to reach him for comment last week were unsuccessful. Records maintained in Florida, where Collins-Rector is required to register as a sex offender, show that in 2008 his last known address was in the Dominican Republic.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
INFANT'S DEATH LEAVES 3 MOTHERS GRIEVING
Original story: USA Today
It was a dream the teen girls who met and fell in love at an Iowa high school 18 years ago never thought they'd realize: to one day legally marry and have a family.
Rachel and Heidi McFarland say they didn't allow themselves to dream that big. But they dreamed nonetheless and had agreed in high school that if they ever had a son, they would name him Gabriel.
The McFarlands, both 34, got their wishes. But a happy ending is still elusive.
Five years ago, when same-sex marriage became legal in Iowa, they wed. Last September, they began the process of adopting a baby from a pregnant teenager. The boy, whom they named Gabriel, was born Dec. 28.
About 10 weeks later, they lost the infant when Gabriel's birth mother, Markeya Atkins, took him back.
This week, all three mothers felt a loss when the 4-month-old infant was found dead in a Des Moines apartment.
"This was our worst nightmare that something was going to happen, and then something happened," Heidi McFarland said.
Police have charged the boy's father, Drew James Weehler-Smith, 17, with neglect after he left Gabriel alone in the apartment. The investigation is ongoing, and more charges may be filed, police said.
Finding out about Gabriel's death on the news Wednesday was the culmination of weeks of anguish for the Ankeny couple. Since giving Gabriel back to his 16-year-old birth mother March 13, both women said they have stayed awake nights worrying if the infant was being fed, changed and properly cared for. A Flint Child Abuse Defense Lawyer indicated evidence of child abuse.
It was a long way from a few months earlier, when they had met the pregnant teen and everything "seemed perfect."
A co-worker of Rachel McFarland's had overheard a conversation about Rachel and her spouse wanting to have children. The woman, Felicia West, approached Rachel McFarland and told her that her 15-year-old daughter was pregnant and wanted to give the baby up for adoption. After some discussion and retaining a lawyer, the McFarlands agreed to adopt the child.
The McFarlands say they spent thousands of dollars providing transportation to medical visits and buying groceries for Atkins. They also paid the legal fees for her, the birth father and Gabriel, they said. They said they coached Atkins through her labor, and Rachel cut the umbilical cord.
But over time, the couple's relationship with Atkins became "strained at best," and after the birth, it had completely deteriorated. The McFarlands said they felt manipulated by the biological family and wondered if they were being used to support Atkins during her pregnancy.
They hadn't heard from the birth mother for weeks when, on March 13, their attorney told them Atkins had changed her mind. She wanted the baby back.
"I thought I was going to be sick," Heidi McFarland said.
The McFarlands felt powerless. Typically, a birth parent releases custody 72 hours after the baby's birth. Under Iowa law, the birth parent then has four days to change their mind about the adoption. After that window, the birth parent must show "great cause" to go back on the agreement within 30 days.
But some families' timelines vary due to other factors, and the McFarlands were not scheduled to get custody until March 24. Atkins hadn't yet given up her rights to him when she decided she wanted him back. They considered contacting a Muskegon Child Abuse Defense Lawyer.
The McFarlands went home from their attorney's office and spent a final, devastating few hours with Gabriel before giving up the curly-haired boy they had bonded with during evening bath time, dancing in the living room with the baby all wrapped up in his towel.
"Terrible," Heidi McFarland said, through tears. "I had a feeling I was never going to see him again."
"I honestly didn't know that I could physically hurt that badly," Rachel McFarland said.
Atkins said she changed her mind about giving the baby up for adoption because the adoptive mothers became distant after his birth. She told The Des Moines Register that she feared that after she signed the paperwork, they would cut him out of her life completely. A Grand Rapids Child Abuse Defense Lawyer concurred after viewing the reports.
"It's like after I gave the baby to them, they didn't care," she said.
And Atkins said she believed she could raise the infant. A depression that had set in when she learned she was pregnant and intensified after she gave birth had lifted, and she decided to turn her life around, moving into a new apartment and buying a car, she said.
Tuesday night was the first time Weehler-Smith watched the infant alone, but Atkins said she felt comfortable leaving the baby in his care while she ran errands.
When Siobhan Williams, Atkins' friend, came by the apartment Tuesday night to get a phone charger, Williams said Weehler-Smith seemed "weird" and "socially awkward." She called Atkins and asked if she trusted him alone with the baby. Atkins said yes, but then asked Williams to go back to the apartment.
When Williams got there, Weehler-Smith was driving away, without the baby. She said she called Atkins and got her to hurry back to the apartment.
When Atkins arrived and they got into the apartment, they found the baby.
"He was foaming out of his nose and his mouth and he was kind of pale," Williams said. "His clothes were wet when you touched them. Markeya started screaming asking him to wake up."
Williams said she called 911, and the operator told her to do CPR.
"We laid him on the ground," Williams said through tears. "I did the compressions and the breaths till the paramedics got here and they took him."
Atkins said her son's short life makes her regret ever giving him up in the first place.
"God, I can't even describe how much I loved him," she said.
Police eventually located Weehler-Smith and charged him with neglect of a dependent person for leaving the baby alone in the apartment. An autopsy and additional investigation are pending, officials said.
The McFarlands said they too loved the infant.
After giving the baby back, the McFarlands could only see him through photos on his birth mother's Facebook page. Then on Wednesday, they found out Gabriel was dead.
The McFarlands said they want to make sure this doesn't happen to other adoptive parents. They are looking into what laws could better help protect children. "I have to believe that he came into our life for a reason," Heidi McFarland said.
Gabriel's bedroom remains as it was in the McFarlands' home. In his crib, a deflated balloon announces "It's a Boy" and an ink-stained certificate from Mercy Medical Center shows the baby's tiny footprints.
The McFarlands still dream another child will one day live in that room. They're still hoping for their happy ending.
It was a dream the teen girls who met and fell in love at an Iowa high school 18 years ago never thought they'd realize: to one day legally marry and have a family.
Rachel and Heidi McFarland say they didn't allow themselves to dream that big. But they dreamed nonetheless and had agreed in high school that if they ever had a son, they would name him Gabriel.
The McFarlands, both 34, got their wishes. But a happy ending is still elusive.
Five years ago, when same-sex marriage became legal in Iowa, they wed. Last September, they began the process of adopting a baby from a pregnant teenager. The boy, whom they named Gabriel, was born Dec. 28.
About 10 weeks later, they lost the infant when Gabriel's birth mother, Markeya Atkins, took him back.
This week, all three mothers felt a loss when the 4-month-old infant was found dead in a Des Moines apartment.
"This was our worst nightmare that something was going to happen, and then something happened," Heidi McFarland said.
Police have charged the boy's father, Drew James Weehler-Smith, 17, with neglect after he left Gabriel alone in the apartment. The investigation is ongoing, and more charges may be filed, police said.
Finding out about Gabriel's death on the news Wednesday was the culmination of weeks of anguish for the Ankeny couple. Since giving Gabriel back to his 16-year-old birth mother March 13, both women said they have stayed awake nights worrying if the infant was being fed, changed and properly cared for. A Flint Child Abuse Defense Lawyer indicated evidence of child abuse.
It was a long way from a few months earlier, when they had met the pregnant teen and everything "seemed perfect."
A co-worker of Rachel McFarland's had overheard a conversation about Rachel and her spouse wanting to have children. The woman, Felicia West, approached Rachel McFarland and told her that her 15-year-old daughter was pregnant and wanted to give the baby up for adoption. After some discussion and retaining a lawyer, the McFarlands agreed to adopt the child.
The McFarlands say they spent thousands of dollars providing transportation to medical visits and buying groceries for Atkins. They also paid the legal fees for her, the birth father and Gabriel, they said. They said they coached Atkins through her labor, and Rachel cut the umbilical cord.
But over time, the couple's relationship with Atkins became "strained at best," and after the birth, it had completely deteriorated. The McFarlands said they felt manipulated by the biological family and wondered if they were being used to support Atkins during her pregnancy.
They hadn't heard from the birth mother for weeks when, on March 13, their attorney told them Atkins had changed her mind. She wanted the baby back.
"I thought I was going to be sick," Heidi McFarland said.
The McFarlands felt powerless. Typically, a birth parent releases custody 72 hours after the baby's birth. Under Iowa law, the birth parent then has four days to change their mind about the adoption. After that window, the birth parent must show "great cause" to go back on the agreement within 30 days.
But some families' timelines vary due to other factors, and the McFarlands were not scheduled to get custody until March 24. Atkins hadn't yet given up her rights to him when she decided she wanted him back. They considered contacting a Muskegon Child Abuse Defense Lawyer.
The McFarlands went home from their attorney's office and spent a final, devastating few hours with Gabriel before giving up the curly-haired boy they had bonded with during evening bath time, dancing in the living room with the baby all wrapped up in his towel.
"Terrible," Heidi McFarland said, through tears. "I had a feeling I was never going to see him again."
"I honestly didn't know that I could physically hurt that badly," Rachel McFarland said.
Atkins said she changed her mind about giving the baby up for adoption because the adoptive mothers became distant after his birth. She told The Des Moines Register that she feared that after she signed the paperwork, they would cut him out of her life completely. A Grand Rapids Child Abuse Defense Lawyer concurred after viewing the reports.
"It's like after I gave the baby to them, they didn't care," she said.
And Atkins said she believed she could raise the infant. A depression that had set in when she learned she was pregnant and intensified after she gave birth had lifted, and she decided to turn her life around, moving into a new apartment and buying a car, she said.
Tuesday night was the first time Weehler-Smith watched the infant alone, but Atkins said she felt comfortable leaving the baby in his care while she ran errands.
When Siobhan Williams, Atkins' friend, came by the apartment Tuesday night to get a phone charger, Williams said Weehler-Smith seemed "weird" and "socially awkward." She called Atkins and asked if she trusted him alone with the baby. Atkins said yes, but then asked Williams to go back to the apartment.
When Williams got there, Weehler-Smith was driving away, without the baby. She said she called Atkins and got her to hurry back to the apartment.
When Atkins arrived and they got into the apartment, they found the baby.
"He was foaming out of his nose and his mouth and he was kind of pale," Williams said. "His clothes were wet when you touched them. Markeya started screaming asking him to wake up."
Williams said she called 911, and the operator told her to do CPR.
"We laid him on the ground," Williams said through tears. "I did the compressions and the breaths till the paramedics got here and they took him."
Atkins said her son's short life makes her regret ever giving him up in the first place.
"God, I can't even describe how much I loved him," she said.
Police eventually located Weehler-Smith and charged him with neglect of a dependent person for leaving the baby alone in the apartment. An autopsy and additional investigation are pending, officials said.
The McFarlands said they too loved the infant.
After giving the baby back, the McFarlands could only see him through photos on his birth mother's Facebook page. Then on Wednesday, they found out Gabriel was dead.
The McFarlands said they want to make sure this doesn't happen to other adoptive parents. They are looking into what laws could better help protect children. "I have to believe that he came into our life for a reason," Heidi McFarland said.
Gabriel's bedroom remains as it was in the McFarlands' home. In his crib, a deflated balloon announces "It's a Boy" and an ink-stained certificate from Mercy Medical Center shows the baby's tiny footprints.
The McFarlands still dream another child will one day live in that room. They're still hoping for their happy ending.
Friday, April 25, 2014
INFANT'S DEATH LEAVES 3 MOTHERS GRIEVING
Original Story: USAToday.com
DES MOINES, Iowa -- It was a dream the teen girls who met and fell in love at an Iowa high school 18 years ago never thought they'd realize: to one day legally marry and have a family.
Rachel and Heidi McFarland say they didn't allow themselves to dream that big. But they dreamed nonetheless and had agreed in high school that if they ever had a son, they would name him Gabriel.
The McFarlands, both 34, got their wishes. But a happy ending is still elusive.
Five years ago, when same-sex marriage became legal in Iowa, they wed. Last September, they began the process of adopting a baby from a pregnant teenager. The boy, whom they named Gabriel, was born Dec. 28.
About 10 weeks later, they lost the infant when Gabriel's birth mother, Markeya Atkins, took him back.
This week, all three mothers felt a loss when the 4-month-old infant was found dead in a Des Moines apartment.
"This was our worst nightmare that something was going to happen, and then something happened," Heidi McFarland said.
Police have charged the boy's father, Drew James Weehler-Smith, 17, with neglect after he left Gabriel alone in the apartment. The investigation is ongoing, and more charges may be filed, police said.
Finding out about Gabriel's death on the news Wednesday was the culmination of weeks of anguish for the Ankeny couple. Since giving Gabriel back to his 16-year-old birth mother March 13, both women said they have stayed awake nights worrying if the infant was being fed, changed and properly cared for.
It was a long way from a few months earlier, when they had met the pregnant teen and everything "seemed perfect."
A co-worker of Rachel McFarland's had overheard a conversation about Rachel and her spouse wanting to have children. The woman, Felicia West, approached Rachel McFarland and told her that her 15-year-old daughter was pregnant and wanted to give the baby up for adoption. After some discussion and retaining a lawyer, the McFarlands agreed to adopt the child.
The McFarlands say they spent thousands of dollars providing transportation to medical visits and buying groceries for Atkins. They also paid the legal fees for her, the birth father and Gabriel, they said. They said they coached Atkins through her labor, and Rachel cut the umbilical cord.
But over time, the couple's relationship with Atkins became "strained at best," and after the birth, it had completely deteriorated. The McFarlands said they felt manipulated by the biological family and wondered if they were being used to support Atkins during her pregnancy.
They hadn't heard from the birth mother for weeks when, on March 13, their attorney told them Atkins had changed her mind. She wanted the baby back.
"I thought I was going to be sick," Heidi McFarland said.
The McFarlands felt powerless. Typically, a birth parent releases custody 72 hours after the baby's birth. Under Iowa law, the birth parent then has four days to change their mind about the adoption. After that window, the birth parent must show "great cause" to go back on the agreement within 30 days.
But some families' timelines vary due to other factors, and the McFarlands were not scheduled to get custody until March 24. Atkins hadn't yet given up her rights to him when she decided she wanted him back.
The McFarlands went home from their attorney's office and spent a final, devastating few hours with Gabriel before giving up the curly-haired boy they had bonded with during evening bath time, dancing in the living room with the baby all wrapped up in his towel.
"Terrible," Heidi McFarland said, through tears. "I had a feeling I was never going to see him again."
"I honestly didn't know that I could physically hurt that badly," Rachel McFarland said.
Atkins said she changed her mind about giving the baby up for adoption because the adoptive mothers became distant after his birth. She told The Des Moines Register that she feared that after she signed the paperwork, they would cut him out of her life completely.
"It's like after I gave the baby to them, they didn't care," she said.
And Atkins said she believed she could raise the infant. A depression that had set in when she learned she was pregnant and intensified after she gave birth had lifted, and she decided to turn her life around, moving into a new apartment and buying a car, she said.
Tuesday night was the first time Weehler-Smith watched the infant alone, but Atkins said she felt comfortable leaving the baby in his care while she ran errands.
When Siobhan Williams, Atkins' friend, came by the apartment Tuesday night to get a phone charger, Williams said Weehler-Smith seemed "weird" and "socially awkward." She called Atkins and asked if she trusted him alone with the baby. Atkins said yes, but then asked Williams to go back to the apartment.
When Williams got there, Weehler-Smith was driving away, without the baby. She said she called Atkins and got her to hurry back to the apartment.
When Atkins arrived and they got into the apartment, they found the baby.
"He was foaming out of his nose and his mouth and he was kind of pale," Williams said. "His clothes were wet when you touched them. Markeya started screaming asking him to wake up."
Williams said she called 911, and the operator told her to do CPR.
"We laid him on the ground," Williams said through tears. "I did the compressions and the breaths till the paramedics got here and they took him."
Atkins said her son's short life makes her regret ever giving him up in the first place.
"God, I can't even describe how much I loved him," she said.
Police eventually located Weehler-Smith and charged him with neglect of a dependent person for leaving the baby alone in the apartment. An autopsy and additional investigation are pending, officials said.
The McFarlands said they too loved the infant.
After giving the baby back, the McFarlands could only see him through photos on his birth mother's Facebook page. Then on Wednesday, they found out Gabriel was dead.
The McFarlands said they want to make sure this doesn't happen to other adoptive parents. They are looking into what laws could better help protect children. "I have to believe that he came into our life for a reason," Heidi McFarland said.
Gabriel's bedroom remains as it was in the McFarlands' home. In his crib, a deflated balloon announces "It's a Boy" and an ink-stained certificate from Mercy Medical Center shows the baby's tiny footprints.
The McFarlands still dream another child will one day live in that room. They're still hoping for their happy ending.
DES MOINES, Iowa -- It was a dream the teen girls who met and fell in love at an Iowa high school 18 years ago never thought they'd realize: to one day legally marry and have a family.
Rachel and Heidi McFarland say they didn't allow themselves to dream that big. But they dreamed nonetheless and had agreed in high school that if they ever had a son, they would name him Gabriel.
The McFarlands, both 34, got their wishes. But a happy ending is still elusive.
Five years ago, when same-sex marriage became legal in Iowa, they wed. Last September, they began the process of adopting a baby from a pregnant teenager. The boy, whom they named Gabriel, was born Dec. 28.
About 10 weeks later, they lost the infant when Gabriel's birth mother, Markeya Atkins, took him back.
This week, all three mothers felt a loss when the 4-month-old infant was found dead in a Des Moines apartment.
"This was our worst nightmare that something was going to happen, and then something happened," Heidi McFarland said.
Police have charged the boy's father, Drew James Weehler-Smith, 17, with neglect after he left Gabriel alone in the apartment. The investigation is ongoing, and more charges may be filed, police said.
Finding out about Gabriel's death on the news Wednesday was the culmination of weeks of anguish for the Ankeny couple. Since giving Gabriel back to his 16-year-old birth mother March 13, both women said they have stayed awake nights worrying if the infant was being fed, changed and properly cared for.
It was a long way from a few months earlier, when they had met the pregnant teen and everything "seemed perfect."
A co-worker of Rachel McFarland's had overheard a conversation about Rachel and her spouse wanting to have children. The woman, Felicia West, approached Rachel McFarland and told her that her 15-year-old daughter was pregnant and wanted to give the baby up for adoption. After some discussion and retaining a lawyer, the McFarlands agreed to adopt the child.
The McFarlands say they spent thousands of dollars providing transportation to medical visits and buying groceries for Atkins. They also paid the legal fees for her, the birth father and Gabriel, they said. They said they coached Atkins through her labor, and Rachel cut the umbilical cord.
But over time, the couple's relationship with Atkins became "strained at best," and after the birth, it had completely deteriorated. The McFarlands said they felt manipulated by the biological family and wondered if they were being used to support Atkins during her pregnancy.
They hadn't heard from the birth mother for weeks when, on March 13, their attorney told them Atkins had changed her mind. She wanted the baby back.
"I thought I was going to be sick," Heidi McFarland said.
The McFarlands felt powerless. Typically, a birth parent releases custody 72 hours after the baby's birth. Under Iowa law, the birth parent then has four days to change their mind about the adoption. After that window, the birth parent must show "great cause" to go back on the agreement within 30 days.
But some families' timelines vary due to other factors, and the McFarlands were not scheduled to get custody until March 24. Atkins hadn't yet given up her rights to him when she decided she wanted him back.
The McFarlands went home from their attorney's office and spent a final, devastating few hours with Gabriel before giving up the curly-haired boy they had bonded with during evening bath time, dancing in the living room with the baby all wrapped up in his towel.
"Terrible," Heidi McFarland said, through tears. "I had a feeling I was never going to see him again."
"I honestly didn't know that I could physically hurt that badly," Rachel McFarland said.
Atkins said she changed her mind about giving the baby up for adoption because the adoptive mothers became distant after his birth. She told The Des Moines Register that she feared that after she signed the paperwork, they would cut him out of her life completely.
"It's like after I gave the baby to them, they didn't care," she said.
And Atkins said she believed she could raise the infant. A depression that had set in when she learned she was pregnant and intensified after she gave birth had lifted, and she decided to turn her life around, moving into a new apartment and buying a car, she said.
Tuesday night was the first time Weehler-Smith watched the infant alone, but Atkins said she felt comfortable leaving the baby in his care while she ran errands.
When Siobhan Williams, Atkins' friend, came by the apartment Tuesday night to get a phone charger, Williams said Weehler-Smith seemed "weird" and "socially awkward." She called Atkins and asked if she trusted him alone with the baby. Atkins said yes, but then asked Williams to go back to the apartment.
When Williams got there, Weehler-Smith was driving away, without the baby. She said she called Atkins and got her to hurry back to the apartment.
When Atkins arrived and they got into the apartment, they found the baby.
"He was foaming out of his nose and his mouth and he was kind of pale," Williams said. "His clothes were wet when you touched them. Markeya started screaming asking him to wake up."
Williams said she called 911, and the operator told her to do CPR.
"We laid him on the ground," Williams said through tears. "I did the compressions and the breaths till the paramedics got here and they took him."
Atkins said her son's short life makes her regret ever giving him up in the first place.
"God, I can't even describe how much I loved him," she said.
Police eventually located Weehler-Smith and charged him with neglect of a dependent person for leaving the baby alone in the apartment. An autopsy and additional investigation are pending, officials said.
The McFarlands said they too loved the infant.
After giving the baby back, the McFarlands could only see him through photos on his birth mother's Facebook page. Then on Wednesday, they found out Gabriel was dead.
The McFarlands said they want to make sure this doesn't happen to other adoptive parents. They are looking into what laws could better help protect children. "I have to believe that he came into our life for a reason," Heidi McFarland said.
Gabriel's bedroom remains as it was in the McFarlands' home. In his crib, a deflated balloon announces "It's a Boy" and an ink-stained certificate from Mercy Medical Center shows the baby's tiny footprints.
The McFarlands still dream another child will one day live in that room. They're still hoping for their happy ending.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
MORE ENTERTAINMENT FIGURES ACCUSED OF SEX ABUSE
Original Story: USAToday.com
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — A man who has accused X-Men director Bryan Singer of sexually abusing him when he was a teen sued three more entertainment industry figures on Monday claiming they also molested him.
The allegations in the latest lawsuits filed by Michael Egan III are substantially similar to his legal action against Singer. That lawsuit accuses the director of abusing him between the ages of 15 and 17 in Los Angeles and Hawaii.
Monday's lawsuits were filed in federal court in Hawaii against former Fox television executive Garth Ancier, theater producer Gary Wayne Goddard, and David A. Neuman, a former television executive with Current TV and Disney. Ancier and Goddard did not respond to phone and email messages seeking comment.
Neuman could not be reached for comment. Phone numbers associated with him have been disconnected, and he did not immediately respond to a message sent through the social networking site LinkedIn.
The lawsuits were filed in Hawaii under a law that temporarily suspends the statute of limitations in civil sex abuse cases.
Singer's attorney Marty Singer has denied the director abused Egan, calling the allegations defamatory. He has said the director was not in Hawaii when Egan says he was abused and was instead working on production for the first X-Men film.
None of the men have been criminally charged and the statute of limitations for any such charges has passed.
Ancier was the founding programmer at the Fox network, later going on to create programming for The WB, and was a top executive at NBC Entertainment.
Egan, 31, appeared at a press conference Monday alongside his mother, who tearfully described her efforts to report alleged abuses to the FBI in 1999 and 2000.
Bonnie Mound said she wrote several letters to FBI agents in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., urging them to take action. She questioned why those letters and information her son provided in interviews with an agent did not result in criminal charges.
The FBI has said it could not discuss specifically what Egan told them, However, the agency denied last week that it had ignored any information about Singer.
"The suggestion that the FBI ignored a minor victim, or evidence involving the sexual victimization of a child, is ludicrous," FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said in a statement. She reiterated the statement after Egan's press conference Monday.
Mound denied her son's lawsuits were motivated by anything other than holding the defendants accountable.
"It's not about money," Mound said, breaking down in tears.
Egan said he spent several years masking his pain by drinking. He stopped drinking within the past year, entered therapy and sought out a lawyer who would pursue a case.
The AP does not typically name victims of sex abuse but is naming Egan because he is speaking publicly about his allegations.
Egan's attorney, Jeff Herman, said he had spent six months investigating before filing the lawsuits but acknowledged he didn't have all the investigative files or Singer's records that might show the director wasn't in Hawaii during the timeframe. Herman said he has asked Singer's lawyers for those records.
Egan claims he was lured into a sex ring run by a former digital entertainment company executive, Marc Collins-Rector, with promises of auditions for acting, modeling and commercial jobs. He was put on the company's payroll as an actor and forced to have sex with adult men at parties within Hollywood's entertainment industry, the lawsuit said.
Collins-Rector pleaded guilty in 2004 to transporting five minors across state lines to have sex.
Phone numbers listed for Collins-Rector have been disconnected and attempts to reach him for comment last week were unsuccessful. Records maintained in Florida, where Collins-Rector is required to register as a sex offender, show that in 2008 his last known address was in the Dominican Republic.
SHARE 19 CONNECT 12 TWEET 3 COMMENTEMAIL
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — A man who has accused X-Men director Bryan Singer of sexually abusing him when he was a teen sued three more entertainment industry figures on Monday claiming they also molested him.
The allegations in the latest lawsuits filed by Michael Egan III are substantially similar to his legal action against Singer. That lawsuit accuses the director of abusing him between the ages of 15 and 17 in Los Angeles and Hawaii.
Monday's lawsuits were filed in federal court in Hawaii against former Fox television executive Garth Ancier, theater producer Gary Wayne Goddard, and David A. Neuman, a former television executive with Current TV and Disney. Ancier and Goddard did not respond to phone and email messages seeking comment.
Neuman could not be reached for comment. Phone numbers associated with him have been disconnected, and he did not immediately respond to a message sent through the social networking site LinkedIn.
The lawsuits were filed in Hawaii under a law that temporarily suspends the statute of limitations in civil sex abuse cases.
Singer's attorney Marty Singer has denied the director abused Egan, calling the allegations defamatory. He has said the director was not in Hawaii when Egan says he was abused and was instead working on production for the first X-Men film.
None of the men have been criminally charged and the statute of limitations for any such charges has passed.
Ancier was the founding programmer at the Fox network, later going on to create programming for The WB, and was a top executive at NBC Entertainment.
Egan, 31, appeared at a press conference Monday alongside his mother, who tearfully described her efforts to report alleged abuses to the FBI in 1999 and 2000.
Bonnie Mound said she wrote several letters to FBI agents in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., urging them to take action. She questioned why those letters and information her son provided in interviews with an agent did not result in criminal charges.
The FBI has said it could not discuss specifically what Egan told them, However, the agency denied last week that it had ignored any information about Singer.
"The suggestion that the FBI ignored a minor victim, or evidence involving the sexual victimization of a child, is ludicrous," FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said in a statement. She reiterated the statement after Egan's press conference Monday.
Mound denied her son's lawsuits were motivated by anything other than holding the defendants accountable.
"It's not about money," Mound said, breaking down in tears.
Egan said he spent several years masking his pain by drinking. He stopped drinking within the past year, entered therapy and sought out a lawyer who would pursue a case.
The AP does not typically name victims of sex abuse but is naming Egan because he is speaking publicly about his allegations.
Egan's attorney, Jeff Herman, said he had spent six months investigating before filing the lawsuits but acknowledged he didn't have all the investigative files or Singer's records that might show the director wasn't in Hawaii during the timeframe. Herman said he has asked Singer's lawyers for those records.
Egan claims he was lured into a sex ring run by a former digital entertainment company executive, Marc Collins-Rector, with promises of auditions for acting, modeling and commercial jobs. He was put on the company's payroll as an actor and forced to have sex with adult men at parties within Hollywood's entertainment industry, the lawsuit said.
Collins-Rector pleaded guilty in 2004 to transporting five minors across state lines to have sex.
Phone numbers listed for Collins-Rector have been disconnected and attempts to reach him for comment last week were unsuccessful. Records maintained in Florida, where Collins-Rector is required to register as a sex offender, show that in 2008 his last known address was in the Dominican Republic.
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Friday, October 19, 2012
Sara Clara County Public Defender Accused of Lying
Story first appeared on murcurynews.com
SAN FRANCISCO -- The liar in the courtroom Wednesday wasn't the Santa Clara County prosecutor charged with misconduct, his defense attorney contended. It was his accuser, a public defender with a reputation for dirty tricks.
A child abuse defense attorney is involved in any case when child abuse allegations are made toward an individual.
The contention came on the first day of prosecutor Troy Benson's trial in State Bar Court. Benson is charged with concealing evidence in 2006 from a defense lawyer in a child sex-assault case and then lying about it under oath. Benson, who denies the allegations, faces at least a year's suspension, a career-killing penalty.
Benson's attorney, Jonathan Arons, promised during his opening statement to offer evidence that the primary witness against his client -- Alternate Public Defender Al Lopez -- was not known for his "truth and veracity."
But Lopez appeared to withstand the onslaught, feinting every parry except perhaps one.
Arons first accused Lopez of lying when he said he never had a case with Benson before 2006. The misconduct allegations stem from Benson's 2006 prosecution of Augustin Uribe on charges he sexually molested a female relative, starting when she was 5.
Arons persisted in trying to impeach Lopez as a witness, saying it was a real trial because the defendant was sentenced. But McElroy did not seem impressed.
Arons tried again, with a bit more success. He said Judge Arthur Bocanegra had found Lopez conducted himself in bad faith when he claimed the prosecution had violated "discovery" rules.
Benson is accused of failing to turn over a videotaped medical exam of the child in the Uribe case made by the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) at Valley Medical Center.
Arons then blamed Lopez for accusing prosecutor Alison Filo of purposely excluding jurors of a certain unspecified ethnic or racial group in a trial involving an Asian man. His point was Lopez would go to any lengths to win a case, even smearing the reputation of a prosecutor. But an appellate court agreed with Lopez and sent the case back for a new trial. Arons then noted when Lopez filed a similar motion in another case, a judge called that motion improper.
Two of Arons' many other attempts to discredit Lopez also appeared to backfire.
He asked Lopez if he ever said the DA's office was out to get him after Judge Andrea Bryan's controversial decision to free Uribe in 2010 on the grounds that Benson committed "outrageous prosecutorial misconduct." An appellate panel agreed Benson committed "substantial misconduct" but found the judge went too far in releasing Uribe. In turn, the state Attorney General's Office found there were no grounds to charge Benson with perjury and that Lopez could just as easily have not been telling the truth.
Arons also asked why Lopez hadn't responded for about two weeks to an important email from Benson.
At times, the fierce cross-examination appeared to annoy the judge, who was holding his own against Arons. She even lectured the defense at one point, saying the heart of the case was whether Benson turned over the videotape, and that the defense didn't seem to understand the meaning of the term.
However, evidence that merely tends to impeach the state's case is also exculpatory.
Arons said Benson did not withhold the videotape, adding in his opening statement that "there's a difference between withholding something and not revealing something you don't know even know about."
But the day wasn't a complete loss for Benson. Lopez was the least clear about what he told Uribe trial Judge Paul Bernal about who discovered the tape first. Bernal is set to take the stand Tuesday to provide what could be key testimony.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Illinois Couple to Stand Trial After Kids Found Bound
Story first reported from AP News
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - A judge ruled Tuesday that an Illinois man and his wife will stand trial in Kansas on child abuse charges after two of their children were found in a Walmart parking lot tied up, a practice the father's lawyer described as a religious belief in the family and a way to guard against demons.
Douglas County Judge Paula Martin said at the conclusion of a preliminary hearing there was enough evidence to try Adolfo Gomez, 52, and his wife Deborah Gomez, 44, on two counts each of child abuse. The father also faces an additional count of obstruction for resisting arrest.
The Northlake, Ill., pair have been in custody since June 13 when police found two of the Gomez children, ages 5 and 7, tied up and with duct tape over their eyes outside a Walmart in Lawrence. The couple's three other children, ages 12, 13 and 15, were in the family's SUV unrestrained. The children are in protective custody.
Martin also said the state did not prove its case on five previous aggravated endangerment counts against each parent because of the way the charges were worded. Debby Moody, assistant Douglas County district attorney, said she would amend the five counts and refile them before the couple's arraignment Thursday.
Lawrence police Detective Randy Glidewell testified Tuesday that when he interviewed Adolfo Gomez the day of the arrest, Gomez said he had been listening to an online preacher who was predicting the end of the world and that a "darkness had come over the house" in Illinois.
"And the world was coming to an end, and that's why they left," Glidewell added, referring to the father's comments to police.
The detective also said Adolfo Gomez told him he hadn't slept in nine days, and that Gomez was particularly concerned about one of the younger children. Gomez described the child as "acting like he was possessed," Glidewell said.
"He was scared (the child) would hurt some of the kids," the detective said.
Lawrence police officer Hayden Fowler testified that one of the older children told him the family believed there were "demons" in their home and outside their SUV in the parking lot, and that the coverings on the vehicle's windows were there to keep the demons out.
Adolfo Gomez's lawyer, Skip Griffy, also said during the hearing that blindfolding and binding the younger children was part of the family's religious beliefs, and that it was not done frequently or as a punishment but as a way to protect the children from demons.
"Their actions were taken out of their religious beliefs, that these children were possessed," Griffy said. He added that the children had no injuries.
Angela Keck, a lawyer for Deborah Gomez, distanced her client from Adolfo Gomez, saying the woman had no control over her husband.
"She was doing her best to protect herself and her children when Mr. Gomez was having a kind of religious experience," Keck said. "You have not heard anything that these children's lives were in any danger in any way."
Moody, however, said the "danger to these children was real."
"These types of bindings and blindfolds come into play when you're talking about ... prisoners of war," the prosecutor said.
Deborah Gomez was involved in the abuse and when presented with an opportunity to help, "she went shopping for duct tape, two tarps and a baseball bat," Moody said, alluding to the list of items police discovered in the mother's shopping cart at Walmart when the children were found.
"It was a team effort, your honor," Moody said. "What happens when kids in the Gomez family are possessed? They get bound and they get blindfolded."
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - A judge ruled Tuesday that an Illinois man and his wife will stand trial in Kansas on child abuse charges after two of their children were found in a Walmart parking lot tied up, a practice the father's lawyer described as a religious belief in the family and a way to guard against demons.
Douglas County Judge Paula Martin said at the conclusion of a preliminary hearing there was enough evidence to try Adolfo Gomez, 52, and his wife Deborah Gomez, 44, on two counts each of child abuse. The father also faces an additional count of obstruction for resisting arrest.
The Northlake, Ill., pair have been in custody since June 13 when police found two of the Gomez children, ages 5 and 7, tied up and with duct tape over their eyes outside a Walmart in Lawrence. The couple's three other children, ages 12, 13 and 15, were in the family's SUV unrestrained. The children are in protective custody.
Martin also said the state did not prove its case on five previous aggravated endangerment counts against each parent because of the way the charges were worded. Debby Moody, assistant Douglas County district attorney, said she would amend the five counts and refile them before the couple's arraignment Thursday.
Lawrence police Detective Randy Glidewell testified Tuesday that when he interviewed Adolfo Gomez the day of the arrest, Gomez said he had been listening to an online preacher who was predicting the end of the world and that a "darkness had come over the house" in Illinois.
"And the world was coming to an end, and that's why they left," Glidewell added, referring to the father's comments to police.
The detective also said Adolfo Gomez told him he hadn't slept in nine days, and that Gomez was particularly concerned about one of the younger children. Gomez described the child as "acting like he was possessed," Glidewell said.
"He was scared (the child) would hurt some of the kids," the detective said.
Lawrence police officer Hayden Fowler testified that one of the older children told him the family believed there were "demons" in their home and outside their SUV in the parking lot, and that the coverings on the vehicle's windows were there to keep the demons out.
Adolfo Gomez's lawyer, Skip Griffy, also said during the hearing that blindfolding and binding the younger children was part of the family's religious beliefs, and that it was not done frequently or as a punishment but as a way to protect the children from demons.
"Their actions were taken out of their religious beliefs, that these children were possessed," Griffy said. He added that the children had no injuries.
Angela Keck, a lawyer for Deborah Gomez, distanced her client from Adolfo Gomez, saying the woman had no control over her husband.
"She was doing her best to protect herself and her children when Mr. Gomez was having a kind of religious experience," Keck said. "You have not heard anything that these children's lives were in any danger in any way."
Moody, however, said the "danger to these children was real."
"These types of bindings and blindfolds come into play when you're talking about ... prisoners of war," the prosecutor said.
Deborah Gomez was involved in the abuse and when presented with an opportunity to help, "she went shopping for duct tape, two tarps and a baseball bat," Moody said, alluding to the list of items police discovered in the mother's shopping cart at Walmart when the children were found.
"It was a team effort, your honor," Moody said. "What happens when kids in the Gomez family are possessed? They get bound and they get blindfolded."
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Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Judge Suspended
Story first appeared in the Associated Press.
The Texas Supreme Court suspended a judge Tuesday whose beating of his then-teenage daughter in 2004 was viewed millions of times on the Internet.
Aransas County court-at-law Judge William Adams was suspended immediately with pay pending the outcome of the inquiry started earlier this month by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, according to an order signed Tuesday by the clerk of the state's highest court.
The order makes clear that while Adams agreed to the commission's recommended temporary suspension and waived the hearing and notice requirements, he does not admit guilt, fault or wrongdoing regarding the allegations. His attorney did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Adams' now 23-year-old daughter Hillary Adams uploaded the secretly-recorded 2004 video of her father beating her repeatedly with a belt for making illegal downloads from the internet.
William Adams has not sat on the bench since the video went viral. It has been viewed more than 6 million times on YouTube.
The public outcry over the video was so great that in a rare move the, State Commission on Judicial Conduct announced publicly Nov. 2 that it had opened an investigation. A statement from the commission then said that it had been flooded with calls, emails and faxes regarding the video and Adams.
William Adams appeared in court Monday for a day-long hearing regarding the custody of his 10-year-old daughter. His wife had sought a change in their joint custody agreement, and another judge imposed a temporary restraining order effectively keeping William Adams from being alone with his younger daughter until he reached a decision. An order was expected in that dispute Wednesday.
As Aransas County's top judge, William Adams has dealt with at least 349 family law cases in the past year alone, nearly 50 of which involved state caseworkers seeking determine whether parents were fit to raise their children. A visiting judge has been handling his caseload.
After reviewing the investigation conducted by local police, the Aransas County district attorney said too much time had passed to bring charges against William Adams.
The Texas Supreme Court suspended a judge Tuesday whose beating of his then-teenage daughter in 2004 was viewed millions of times on the Internet.
Aransas County court-at-law Judge William Adams was suspended immediately with pay pending the outcome of the inquiry started earlier this month by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, according to an order signed Tuesday by the clerk of the state's highest court.
The order makes clear that while Adams agreed to the commission's recommended temporary suspension and waived the hearing and notice requirements, he does not admit guilt, fault or wrongdoing regarding the allegations. His attorney did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Adams' now 23-year-old daughter Hillary Adams uploaded the secretly-recorded 2004 video of her father beating her repeatedly with a belt for making illegal downloads from the internet.
William Adams has not sat on the bench since the video went viral. It has been viewed more than 6 million times on YouTube.
The public outcry over the video was so great that in a rare move the, State Commission on Judicial Conduct announced publicly Nov. 2 that it had opened an investigation. A statement from the commission then said that it had been flooded with calls, emails and faxes regarding the video and Adams.
William Adams appeared in court Monday for a day-long hearing regarding the custody of his 10-year-old daughter. His wife had sought a change in their joint custody agreement, and another judge imposed a temporary restraining order effectively keeping William Adams from being alone with his younger daughter until he reached a decision. An order was expected in that dispute Wednesday.
As Aransas County's top judge, William Adams has dealt with at least 349 family law cases in the past year alone, nearly 50 of which involved state caseworkers seeking determine whether parents were fit to raise their children. A visiting judge has been handling his caseload.
After reviewing the investigation conducted by local police, the Aransas County district attorney said too much time had passed to bring charges against William Adams.
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