[sparkle1908]

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press WriterTue Jul 15, 10:42 PM ET



A woman who lied to adopt 11 disabled children whom authorities say she abused while she raked in more than $1 million in subsidies was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 11 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman said Judith Leekin engaged in "a heartless, dangerous money-driven scheme" when she used fake names and lies about the children to defraud social service agencies in New York City and New York state.

Leekin, 63, has been accused of treating the children like prisoners, subjecting them to beatings and handcuffs while they stayed in a locked room without food, depriving them of medical and dental care and not sending them to school. Authorities said the children were so physically and emotionally abused they can never recover.

Leekin looked down and repeatedly dabbed her eyes and nose with tissue as Berman ordered her to serve 10 years and 10 months, nearly three years above the maximum penalty she had agreed to in a plea deal with prosecutors.

The judge also ordered Leekin to forfeit $1.68 million to benefit the children.

"This fraud turns the philosophy of adoption and the need to provide long-term care to children — so important to our social services system ... it turns that system on its head," he said.

Before Leekin was sentenced, she sobbed and apologized for committing wire and mail fraud and promised to surrender all her assets. She pleaded guilty in May.

"I love my children," she said, "and I miss them."

The children, now ages 16 to 28, suffer from a variety of severe mental and physical disabilities, including autism and Down syndrome.

Leekin began adopting them in 1988, when she lived in New York City. A decade later, she moved to Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Florida authorities have charged her with aggravated child abuse and aggravated abuse of disabled adults, and she could face as much as 120 years in prison if she is convicted of those and other charges.

Prosecutors say the high school dropout from Trinidad lived lavishly while forcing the adopted children to sleep on the floor of a storage room next to a garage and banning them from entering the house except to use the bathroom or kitchen.

Attorney Howard M. Talenfeld, speaking on behalf of 10 of the children, told the judge that none of the children could testify before him because they were too damaged by the abuse.

Nine of the children are now in foster or group homes. Another lives on his own in Florida. One child is missing and presumed dead.

Talenfeld said one child was afraid to face Leekin again while five others who were capable of speaking were not brought before the court because social-services professionals advised that they would be further emotionally and psychologically damaged by the experience.

Leekin's lawyer Diamond R. Litty noted that her client was cooperating and surrendering all assets. She said many of the allegations are uncorroborated and at least six of the children have said they "miss their mother and still love her."

Talenfeld said he was most troubled by the 2000 disappearance of a child who suffered from Down syndrome, autism and sickle cell anemia.

He said some of his siblings were told the child, who would be 19 today, was taken to a hospital, while others were told he was buried in the back yard.


The judge recommended that adoption programs use mandatory fingerprinting of prospective parents and a wider investigation of backgrounds before children are placed, and suggested surprise visits to adoptive parents and active monitoring by government agencies.

Berman also noted that Leekin had been abused as a child.
"Neglect leads to neglect," he said. "Adoption is a privilege, not a right."

[loveajax]

There are no words....I am so glad the federal authorities got involved.

I always get upset when I hear about children being abused or neglected, but I get EXTRA mad when I learn that it is an adoptive "parent." Uck.

[MommaD]

10 years isn't enough for that woman. What's really frustrating to me is that someone let her keep adopting children. It's difficult to find homes for disabled and special needs children, so when a willing party steps up they don't care so much about whether or not it's a good home. It appears the state used this woman as a dumping ground for hard to place kids, and if that's the case what they did was just as bad as what she did.

[sparkle1908]

I agree ladies...also, I agree with the judge that surprise visits and better monitoring should be implemented..but we know that the process is convoluted as it is so any changes would be a long time coming...but something more needs to be done to protect against these types of crimes !!!!

[thanksgivingmom]

11 abused children = 11 years?

Nowhere NEAR enough in my book.

[jules17]

What I read yesterday (need to find source, but don't have time right now) said she was still being sentenced for several crimes that could add up to 120+ years.

[jules17]

Florida authorities have charged her with aggravated child abuse and aggravated abuse of disabled adults, and she could face as much as 120 years in prison if she is convicted of those and other charges.

kare11.com | Twin Cities, MN | Woman gets prison time for abusing adopted kids

[thanksgivingmom]

Thanks Jules

[pwheatle]

I have twelve disabled children and young adults. Trust me I am not a 'dumping ground' for hard to place children! I have worked long and hard to have each one of the children join the family and I am held to an even higher standard than families of lesser children because we are so large. Believe me....the authorities do care and I have all the extra reporting and visitation to prove it!
Tricia

[quiescentfury]

Tricia, I agree with you. I have two midly special need FC and had to become a "specialized Home" The amount of training we need has doubled, the amount of in home visits have doubled, the SW does surprise visits to the kids school so she can talk to them alone and talk to their teachers.

I think a lot has to do with the SWs. There are some really awesome SWs and there are a few that don't do the visits that are required. So If you have a bad Sw and a bad FP/AP they can get away with a lot. If everyone is doing their job correctly I believe it would be extremely difficult to get away with this kind of stuff.

[aclee]

Originally Posted by sparkle1908

The judge recommended that adoption programs use mandatory fingerprinting of prospective parents and a wider investigation of backgrounds before children are placed, and suggested surprise visits to adoptive parents and active monitoring by government agencies.

Berman also noted that Leekin had been abused as a child.
"Neglect leads to neglect," he said. "Adoption is a privilege, not a right."

A very sad story to be sure, but why is the judge acting like this is an "adoption" crime...this is a crime against children. A biological mother could certainly do the same. How about surprise vists to all parents?

As a side note, it's stuff like this that makes my state limit how many you can adopt...they think people do it for the $, and cases like this prove them right. The exception makes the rule in MA.

[aclee]

Originally Posted by jules17

Florida authorities have charged her with aggravated child abuse and aggravated abuse of disabled adults, and she could face as much as 120 years in prison if she is convicted of those and other charges.

kare11.com | Twin Cities, MN | Woman gets prison time for abusing adopted kids

She plea bargained...she ended up with more years than she plea bargined for, but her sentence is 11 years. She can't be tried again on this or it's double jeopardy.

Or did she get 11 years for the $ crimes, and will be tried for the child abuse separate? Maybe that's it, but that's not the impression I got. I got the impression from another article that because they didn't want the children to testify, the abuse etc was unsubstantiated, so the plea bargained her....Hopefully that's wrong...

[belleinblue1978]

Originally Posted by aclee

She plea bargained...she ended up with more years than she plea bargined for, but her sentence is 11 years. She can't be tried again on this or it's double jeopardy.

Or did she get 11 years for the $ crimes, and will be tried for the child abuse separate? Maybe that's it, but that's not the impression I got. I got the impression from another article that because they didn't want the children to testify, the abuse etc was unsubstantiated, so the plea bargained her....Hopefully that's wrong...

My understanding is that he 11 years is for the fraud. FL has yet to try her for the abuse counts. I hope that they throw the book at her.

[crick]

Originally Posted by belleinblue1978

My understanding is that he 11 years is for the fraud. FL has yet to try her for the abuse counts. I hope that they throw the book at her.

I agree...although it's not a book I hope they throw at her.

[belleinblue1978]

Originally Posted by crick

I agree...although it's not a book I hope they throw at her.

I hear you there. I'm sure I could come up with some less family friendly things to say, but I'll keep it nice.