Son in abuse case may be charged
Some of the adopted children say he took part in abusing them.
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/08/22/State/Son_in_abuse_case_may.shtml
WEST PALM BEACH - The biological son of a woman charged in a lucrative
adoption scam that stretched from New York to Florida is being accused
by his disabled siblings of threatening them with a gun, beating them
with a club and handcuffing them.
Prosecutor Lev Evans said Tuesday he is considering charges against
Desmond Leekin after some of his 11 adopted siblings told Port St. Lucie
police investigators that he participated in beatings that their mother,
Judith Leekin, has already been charged with.
"We have two victims now claiming that they've been abused by Desmond,"
Port St. Lucie police spokesman Robert Vega said.
One of the adopted children, Jamel Wells, now 19, told authorities that
Desmond Leekin, 39, who worked for the Wackenhut Corp. security firm,
handcuffed him to a crib, which caused scarring, and used his "duty
weapon" to pistol-whip him in 2004.
According to investigators, Leekin "then put the barrel of the weapon
into Jamel's mouth and told him if Jamel ever 'disrespected' his
(Desmond's) mother again, he would shoot him."
He told investigators that Leekin also used a billy club to beat him and
the other children.
Wells said he would be "punished violently when Judith Leekin would
become enraged over little things like not dusting the window sills
properly." He said he fled the home in 2004.
Desmond Leekin has told authorities he rarely visited his mother's home
because he had a bad relationship with her, and knew very little of the
children in her care.
Judith Leekin's attorney, Mario Garcia, would not comment on the
allegations against her son, citing a conflict of interest. But he
accused police of coaching the adopted children during their interviews.
"Nothing is what it seems," Garcia said Tuesday. He said that because of
the investigation, the Florida Department of Children and Families
seized Desmond Leekin's children last week. The DCF declined to comment.
Judith Leekin, 62, is charged with multiple counts of abuse. Authorities
say she adopted 11 children, many suffering from mental and physical
disabilities, from New York City between 1988 and 1996 under various
aliases and kept them like prisoners in her Port St. Lucie home. She has
pleaded not guilty.
Police say the children - who now range in age from their mid teens to
mid 20s - were often handcuffed, beaten, starved and locked in a room.
They were deprived of medical care and were not allowed to attend
school, police said.
Authorities say Leekin received up to $1.26-million in subsidies from
New York for the children's care. She could receive up to 190 years in
prison if convicted.
Several children told stories similar to that of Jamel Wells about
Desmond Leekin, according to police documents. Tracey Wells, 18, told
police Desmond frequently beat the children "including with shoes, belts
and sticks."
Several of the children have the last name Wells, one of the aliases
police say Judith Leekin used. Authorities say it is unclear how many,
if any, of the adopted children are biologically related to each other.
[Last modified August 22, 2007, 00:14:36]
CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA
WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....
CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.
every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf
http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com
Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS
*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*
Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5
Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.
CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...
BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...
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