Innocence Lost: Florida Lawsuit Alleges DCF Sent Girl To Abusive Setting

Children should know they’re beautiful and loved. They should feel safe, welcome and comfortable surrounded by family and friends.

Yet one girl felt none of these. At 7, she was placed by the Florida Department of Children and Families into an overcrowded foster home, shared a bed with another foster child, and ultimately was sexually molested by the foster parent. She lost more than her innocence. She lost her trust in others and a chance at a normal future.

Now 12, her adoptive mother is trying to help the girl regain her trust – and a normal life. A lawsuit filed against the Florida DCF and YMCA seeks to ensure normalcy for the girl – and future state wards.

Recall DCF

In the St. Petersburg Times story of February 27, 2010, “Lawsuit Alleges DCF and YMCA Sent Girl into Sexually Abusive Situation,” it was reported that the first time the Florida woman took her adoptive daughter to the dentist, an assistant asked if the girl had been sexually assaulted.
“She just asked that because of how she reacted toward him,” the girl’s mother said.
The abuse, which occurred when the girl was 7 years old and in foster care, could have been prevented and should have been recognized sooner, according to a suit filed in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court that accuses the Department of Children and Families and the Sarasota YMCA of negligence and oversight failures — allegations that the DCF flatly denies.


Attorney Howard Talenfeld says the girl should have never been in the Oldsmar home of Brian and Antonia Starmer, who are also named in the suit.

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Father Sues Florida Department Children And families For Taking His Daughter

William Dunn Case Update - Father Sues Florida DCF for Taking His Daughter

May 3rd, 2010 by Robert Franklin, Esq.
Last July I reported on the William Dunn case here.   I’ve recently spoken with Dunn and his attorney, Robert Hancock and learned more details.  The case opens a window on the mindset that often prevails in child protective agencies.  Let’s just say, it’s not exactly father-friendly.
Mr. Dunn is a Florida man who fathered a daughter, Mercedes, out of wedlock with a casual acquaintance, Jennifer Shoaf.  For some time, Shoaf kept the child secret from Dunn, but eventually he learned about her and moved immediately to be part of her life.
What he found out about his daughter’s situation appalled him.  Shoaf was living with a boyfriend, Miguel Colon.  His daughter, then about four years old, was suffering from apparent symptoms of sexual abuse.  Dunn reported the matter to the Department of Children and Families who investigated but concluded there was no problem.  They also told Dunn something else; they told him not to be surprised if Shoaf levelled charges against him in retaliation.
And guess what.  That’s just what happened.  But Dunn was able to prove to the satisfaction of a judge that Mercedes was suffering harm from being in her mother’s and Colon’s care, so custody was transferred to Dunn.
But Shoaf wasn’t finished.  In September of 2006, she again contacted DCF with allegations against Dunn.  She said Mercedes had told her that Dunn had been touching her and taking photos of her.  Now, I don’t know a dad in the world who doesn’t “touch and take photos of his children,” but to DCF that meant “sexual touching” and “pornographic photos,” even though the girl had indicated no such thing.  Such is the mindset of certain child welfare workers.
So DCF again investigated and Mercedes said, however very young children say such a thing, that there had been no inappropriate touching by Dunn.  Despite being required by law and by Florida regulation to do so, DCF failed to interview Dunn or his wife, Heather, whom Dunn made sure to always have present when bathing, dressing, medicating, etc. the little girl.
Despite all that, despite the fact that they had no evidence of inappropriate behavior on Dunn’s part, despite the fact that they themselves had warned him about false allegations by Shoaf, they took Mercedes into foster care.  It took Dunn a year to get her back, but get her back he did and she is now nine and seems to be a healthy and happy child.  That said, she does require counseling for the anxiety caused by the persistent lying her mother coached her to do.

Meanwhile, Dunn employed Hancock to represent him in a lawsuit against DCF.  It’s based on their negligent investigation of the case that resulted in Dunn’s daughter being taken from him.  He’s suing on his own behalf and that of his daughter who suffered sexual victimization apparently at the hands of Colon.  Trial is scheduled for October 4, and Hancock likes his chances.
I can’t overemphasize the value of what Dunn and Hancock are doing.  I’ve written about the abuses of father’s and children’s rights by child welfare authorities more times than I can count and every father who’s experienced some version of what Dunn has should know that he may have a lawsuit available to him.  Negligence is not a difficult thing to prove; it’s just failure to use ordinary care.  So if a state CPS agency fails to use ordinary care in investigating a claim against a dad he should consult an attorney.

The negligence cause of action can be a good one in a case like Dunn’s, but we shouldn’t forget that the U.S. Ninth Circuit has ruled that a CPS agency that fails to notify a father before it places his child in foster care can be liable under federal civil rights laws.  My guess is that a father who sues under that theory will discover a pattern or practice of ignoring fathers as a placement alternative for children taken from abusive or neglectful mothers.  At least that’s what an Urban Institute study from 2006 shows.
It’s often been true in the past that, when legislatures refuse to enact needed legislation, litigation can often do what needs to be done.  African-Americans had success in court well before southern legislatures required schools and other public facilities to be integrated.  And once litigation succeeds, statute law is often not far behind.  Again, civil rights litigation led directly to the civil rights legislation of the 1960s.  In the same way, products liability litigation led to consumer products safety laws.
The Dunn case and the Burke case decided by the Ninth Circuit show again that, when legislatures fail, litigation can often succeed in asserting rights and disciplining those who have come to believe that they act with impunity.
William Dunn’s case could be the tip of the spear that slays the beast.




http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/?p=7075

Lawsuits Against Department Of Children And Families In Florida Again

BROOKSVILLE — The much-publicized story of the Allains ended in March 2006 when the Weeki Wachee couple were convicted of nearly starving a 10-year-old foster girl.
But the repercussions from that troubling case continue today as those injured seek accountability and compensation.
John J. Edwards Jr., another foster child adopted by Lori and Arthur "Tommy" Allain, filed an amended civil lawsuit Nov. 18 that alleges negligence against his adoptive parents; the state Department of Children and Families; adoption nonprofit Kids Central; and his caseworker, Cathy Kelly.
His biological father, John J. Edwards, filed a similar lawsuit this month, seeking financial damages against DCF and three employees who he claims wrongfully terminated his parental rights, which allowed the Allains to take custody of his son.

For those involved — particularly the state agencies named in the court documents — the lawsuit reopens healing wounds.
Sebring attorney Gary Gossett Jr. represents both Edwardses.
In a letter to DCF about the latest lawsuit, he described his client's situation: "His caregivers starved his half-sister almost to death and forced (the younger Edwards) to suffer a horrible environment reminiscent of a Nazi death camp."
Gossett said the cases are the natural extension of previous court findings. He disputed that it's a quest for money.

"This is about vindication more than anything," he said. The elder Edwards' case "has truly not been about money. It's about the state's agents running over people."
• • •
The Allain saga first exploded into the public realm in May 2004 when John Edwards Jr., then 14, ran away from the Allain home and the allegations of abuse and neglect unfolded.
Edwards — found by sheriff's deputies wandering the streets — said he had been punched in the chest for sneaking food to his half-sister.
Authorities discovered the girl weighed just 29 pounds at age 10, putting her "at risk of imminent death."
Her foster parents refused to give her food because she seemed to have an eating disorder and would vomit after meals. They kept her locked in a room with only a paint bucket to use as a toilet, authorities said at the time.

On June 18, 2004, the Allains were arrested and charged with child abuse and child neglect.
The arrests shed light on an incredible back story, dating to June 2000, when the children were taken from their biological mother and placed by DCF in the care of the Allains, who knew the mother.
Despite numerous red flags, the state granted the couple full custody in April 2002 after they terminated the parental rights of the children's mother.
An independent review conducted after the arrests found DCF ignored numerous allegations of abuse and other warning signs, allowing Edwards and his half-sister to endure a pattern of "torture and starvation."
It took the courts two years to rule on the case, in part because the Allains went on the lam ahead of their trial. In the end, they were convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison for the abuse with an additional five years for failing to appear in court.
The girl has since been adopted by a family in South Florida.

• • •
The report, released in August 2005, serves an important role in the new lawsuits. It points the finger directly at the state. DCF officials have acknowledged wrongdoing and made numerous policy changes.
But the report's author, Circuit Judge Scott Bernstein of Miami, put the most blame on the adoptive parents.
"The Allains, not DCF, are responsible for torturing these children," he wrote. "The difficult question for DCF in this case is how the Allains got away with it for so long."
Bill D'Aiuto, the DCF administrator for the circuit that includes Hernando County, said he could not comment directly about the lawsuit. But he acknowledged the agency's substandard work.
"Certainly, this was a terrible case and caused us to go back and do a thorough review," he said. "We also want to recognize that we have learned from this, and we are moving forward."
The younger Edwards' 13-page lawsuit lists 11 counts. The first four aim directly at the Allains, accusing them of negligence, intentional infliction of severe emotional distress, battery and false imprisonment.
The document also charges that DCF, Kids Central and the caseworker "negligently failed to protect (Edwards) from abuse and neglect."
Gossett said Edwards, who turns 19 on Saturday, is living on and off with his father in Sebring. He said his client is still dealing with the torment endured in this case and is seeking hundreds of millions as a settlement.

The biological father's lawsuit is an extension of this case.
Soon after his son's case went public, the elder Edwards challenged why his parental rights were terminated without his knowledge. He argued that DCF didn't do enough to locate him, and the trial court agreed, saying it was "unfathomable" that a more diligent search wasn't performed.
The case bounced through the court system for years with an appellate court deciding in March 2007 in Edwards' favor.
"For almost three years, (Edwards) has battled for that right against a recalcitrant Department of Children and Families, which has interposed a pointless procedural hurdle and frivolous defenses," wrote District Judge Vincent Torpy in the appellate decision.
The father's civil lawsuit, filed Nov. 14, alleges that DCF "significantly violated the civil rights of the plaintiff, herein causing him deprivation, companionship and parental rights of his son." In particular, it attacks Richard Robbins Jr., the social services employee in charge of notifying Edwards about the termination.
It seeks damages from DCF; Kelly, the caseworker; Robbins; and Diane Ubele, the department's attorney, in excess of $15,000, but does not list a total figure.
Gossett said the case is about accountability. The financial award should be incentive to DCF to change its ways.
"It's the last chapter," he said.
John Frank can be reached at jfrank@sptimes.com or (352) 754-6114.

Copyright 2008 St. Petersburg Times
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Media Blitz to 20/20 and Mark Levin

 You have the honor of standing up for those that can not stand up, be their voice, even if you have had no issue with the courts or Social Services, you have a moral obligation to protect the innocent, as well as the right to stand up for your Constitutional Rights.

You are invited to join together with us to send a blitz of stories, comments, and links to this weeks targeted choices.

This week our information will be going to 20/20 and Mark Levin: a Constitutional Attorney, who wrote the book "Men in Black" about the corruption behind the bench. He has a syndicated talk show

We do not have to like the particular organization that is targeted and we vary every week, we are not making friends with them we want to peak their journalist interest and hopefully touch their hearts. Remember to keep your story or comments relevant, concise, on point, no inflammatory statements or language. We want to be taken seriously. I am not saying not to put your heart into it, but remember that they are looking for a story for ratings.

Be a voice for those that have none, fight for your Constitutional Rights because if you don't no one will.

Email: marklevin.show@cumulus.com

 

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Manatee County,Florida has long made a business of stealing children!!!!

Dulce looks real abuse doesn't  she?

Rick Scott,

Please read this article, you will notice that it is Manatee county, which is under the jurisdiction of Robin Jensen, the same attorney that destroyed our family. If you go to the link you will read comments that say such things as "That is why I left Florida" this is not an isolated problem. Please Please help FL families. Do some research, become a child advocate, you are interested in your political career, here is a stand that you can take.

http://www.nolanchart.com/article4132_The_Business_of_Child_Stealing_in_Florida.html

Under 5 years, blond, blue-eyed - $6,000.00. a top of the line product

We are going to take you behind the lies into the ugly truth that is destroying families for profit every day, in every community across America.� You won't want to believe it but when you see their faces, hear their voices, you will understand why this is happening and what it means to your own life, even if you don't have children.
The same system that views children as commodities to be sold also has plans for you.� There is a solution and we will get to that.�

The CPS steals children using the system paid for by citizens who believe it is being used to protect those in need.� That is a fraud; the system actually pumps money into the personal accounts of all those involved in the system, converting children into cash while destroying them and their families.� The number of children who emerge from the system, able to function normally, are near zero.� Some are never seen again.

The system used includes three stages.� The first phase is to shock and intimidate the parents into consenting to let their children be processed into the system.� The second phase is to force parents, terrified for their children, to begin a process of 'case management.'� That process is a template that is designed to push the parents into emotional meltdown and bankruptcy.� The third phase is to sever the parental rights entirely and sell the children.�

In the wake of this trauma families are atomized, destroyed.� Parents and grandparents never again see the children who connect them to the future.� Children lose their past and the anchoring each of us needs to develop into a healthy human being.�

Those who carry the process through the stages are well compensated.� Agents, Case workers, judges, physicians, clerks, and others expect and receive compensation for services often not even delivered.� Compensation takes place through corporations.� State employees who fail to take children out of homes are penalized; many of these leave the system which has been converted from a system originally intended to help families to one that profits those in control.��

Across the country, CPS experienced high turn overs in case workers struggling under impossible work loads for many years.� Good people, motivated to help struggling families were frustrated and unable to help; those are the kinds of caseworkers who simply quit.� Cases of extreme abuse while children were in foster care were common.� Nothing about the system gave cause for hope it was working.� Then the picture changed.� The idea that instead of providing services the system as a whole should move to the model of generating income took hold as the concept of privatization was widely adopted by government. Privatization, introduced during the Reagan Years, was pushed by think tanks that saw government, a corporation itself, as the logical partner for other large corporate interests. Children, roads, military services, each of these and more were recalibrated to provide income to those in control.� In this way, the problem with social services created an opening that in the late 1990s allowed the least ethical to profit from the pain of others.

PL 105-89 (HR 867), passed into law November 19, 1997, was intended to ensure that children who could not be reunited with their birth families could be placed in loving homes.� But those entrusted to carry out the desperately needed changes found the measure enabled a very different agenda. CPS agents and caseworkers could be trained to look at their industry as a profit center.� The system began to view children as product to be harvested and parents as barriers to be demolished.�

The system became a template for kidnapping, carried out by barely educated caseworkers who were told that they made the law.� This itself had become a tenet of belief held by those in power as the foundations of Constitutional law continued to be eroded by a judiciary who graduated from law school ignorant of America's foundational documents.� The shift from Constitutional law to statute and whim of court, low-level government employee, and law enforcement is documented in "The Anti-Government Movement Guidebook," published by the� National Center for State Courts in1999.

The stage was set and the feeding frenzy was about to begin.�

The process goes through three stages of slow death; ripped from their families the children are bewildered, afraid, vulnerable to the system.� The process hinges on secrecy and an asserted immunity from accountability for all involved.� Power, through the official but unacknowledged transfer from the Constitution to government by statute, code and whim, renders all of those outside government vulnerable.� Caught in that process parents lose track of all the things that brought happiness and normality to their lives.� Years later this will mark them.� Most will never recover.�

This is the story of three families.� Each of their stories is still in motion because the pain never stops.�

Stage One

Manatee County, Florida has long made a business of stealing children.� Families who settle there do not know that, however.� They are attracted to the weather, the beauty of the area.� If they knew they would never settle anyplace in Florida, which is arguably has the most corrupt CPS system in the nation.� The County is run by a Board of Commissioners who meet at this well polished table.�

Children are a commodity for which there is a steady and growing market both in the United States and across the world.� Child sex-slaves arrive in Europe and elsewhere from unspecified locations; children taken from homes routinely end up in the porn industry.� It has been going on for many years but since it did not impact most of us it was easy to ignore.� But as counties across the country have cycled down into bankruptcy the need to pump harder for every buck to be made has become more compelling.� Today it is not just the most vulnerable who are targeted but families that would before have been passed over as too well connected.� In Manatee County the pumping is in fast forward.��

Monday, June 2^nd 2008

The two young sons of the Roberts were dropped off at the home of their babysitter, Christina Holbrook, residence11534 57^th Street Circle East, Parrish, Florida.� Both parents work.� Michelle and James Roberts are both veterans of the US Navy who met while in service to their country.� Both came from families with long and honorable histories of serving in the military.��

Their oldest son, had been disciplined by his father the day before for jumping up and down on his baby brother, a potentially life-threatening activity.� Spanking was the kind of discipline James himself experienced as a child growing up in Tennessee.� The spanking had left a slight bruise.��

CPS arrived at the babysitters home at 9:30am.� They proceeded to strip the two boys and photograph them in the nude, questioning them for an hour. This was a bewildering and frightening experience for the boys.���

The first James and Michelle heard of this was when Michelle received a phone call at 3:30pm from Alicia Habib.� Habib presented herself as an agent for Child Protective Services, demanding that the couple present themselves for an 'interview'. No criminal complaint was presented.� But the process of intimidation and fear was launched.��

Here, Michelle and James find out, to their shock, that the kids have been stripped and photographed.� Left feeling as if the ground had been cut out from under them they endured with shock the moment when the deputy sheriff read James his Miranda rights.� He was not charged; no criminal complaint was served.� Michelle is interviewed.� They are given orders.� Michelle is to be present when James saw their children.� CPS is moving towards building paperwork to take the children away from their parents.��

During the interview they were shown the photos taken of their naked children by the deputy.� The children's faces were frozen in tears.� He did not show them all the photos, keeping them under the paperwork.� Michelle found his behavior intimidating.� As the photos were shown he questioned her about their use of discipline.���

Soon Michelle and James will realize that the CPS has no power unless they give it to them.� CPS depends on the ignorance of ordinary people.� The first phase had begun.��

The system ground them out fine; dehumanizing them and working with fine-tuned intention to show them, by its actions, that they had no rights and no recourse.� At the end of the week a hearing was set; they were now being launched into the second phase of the process that intended to wrest their children from them.� But during those endless days they began to come out of the shock and consider their alternatives.� They considered the Constitution and the rights they knew they had both sworn to defend as members of the armed forces of America.��

Michelle loaded the two boys in their car and drove them hundreds of miles to the town where James had grown up.� There, she left them with their great-grandparents.� When you are seven months pregnant no long drive is comfortable, but for her children Michelle would risk anything.��

In the car she prayed that she would not miscarry the baby held so close to her heart.��

The two young parents are both veterans of the War in Iraq. Each had joined the Navy, after looking forward to serving their country from their early teems.�� She planned this as her career, since 7^th Grade.� He, since taking in ROTC in High School.��

But they had joined a military that they believed cared for its own and kept its promises; after finding that their small son would be have to be left with someone else while both served in the war zone, they resigned.� Their son, Lukas, was born the following October.��

Now, they knew what the military is about.� To them, they were just bodies to fill slots that civilians could fill at twice the pay.� Never previously interested in politics they began to think about how the world was being run.��

From the time you join you are told he is your commander and chief.� She was not a Bush fan, but you cannot say it without fear of reprisal.��

But Florida CPS was not finished with them.� Although they did not know it, Habib stood to make nearly $10,000 as her bounty for taking the children, both very adoptable, from their home.��

They never could have imagined that the elderly great-grand-parents would be threatened with arrest, but that is what happened.� They began studying the Constitution; This, they knew was the real law in America.� If they understood it they could use it.�

Now they understand that they should never have talked to CPS.� If they had not, CPS would have had to leave them alone.� CPS uses fear and intimidation to force the appearance that there they have entered into a 'contract' with parents.� But since a valid contract cannot exist without the elements of disclosure, consent, and equitable exchange this is a fraud.� All parents get is bankruptcy, heartbreak, and too often death.��

The Case Plan Ploy � Adam Umholtz

Adam comes from a family that lived in a log cabin in Pennsylvania.� The cabin was 230 years old. Made of chestnut beams that are from a species that is not extinct the beams were hand hewed and rectangular and criss crossed.� Adam's dad was a pastor for the Southern Home Mission Board.� Adam's younger brother was born there, in the horseshoe shaped valley that was filled with berry bushes and food they grew themselves.��

Adam went to school at the Advanced Training Institute of America, now the ATI.� Now he is an entrepreneur, or was until his life and family was hijacked by the CPS.� Adam's children were taken from him and his wife on Monday, July 28^th, 2007.� They were given a case plan that it was impossible to fulfill.�

As part of the 72 goals laid out in the plan was one requirement that Adam attend a class for sexual offenders who had served time in prison.� This was impossible for Adam to do.� Adam is attending a study on successful parents and couples, a study in which he and his wife were invited to participate.� Both parents are strong Christians who take their faith seriously. Neither parent has ever been to prison for any cause, much less a sexual offense.� The charges were falsified made by a neighbor who was later charged with having committed a sexual offense themselves.

Adam cannot attend the classes available because he has never been to prison and has never been a sexual offender. He is not eligible for the class in any case. So the court told Adam to confess to a crime he did not commit to get his kids back.� The court has an agenda.� If Adam confesses they have a clear track for severing his parental rights.� The lack of justice does not bother the court or the attorney who has urged him to confess to a crime he did not commit. They are all paid through the process that steals children for resale.��

Parents are routinely told that to 'complete their case plan' they must fulfill requirements that force them to leave jobs that prevent them from attending classes scheduled from 9 � 5 on work days.� They are told they cannot be self employed.� Every possible block is put in their paths to complete a 'requirement' that is pointless in any case.� The same pattern is reported by parents across the United States.� Angelina Alexander, a parent in California was told she must quit her job as a taxi driver because she was self employed.� Yet she had taken the job, the only one she could find, to fulfill the requirements to attend classes.� In her case the report that took her small son from her home was from a former boyfriend who had never seen the child.� Complaints that the charge was false were ignored as her processing continued.��

Mainstream Americans are at risk today and have no idea what is coming. In Adam's case the CPS had targeted� the kids because they were homeschooling and because they had building materials in the back yard.� Then a malicious neighbor,� made sexual allegations.� The neighbor was later proven to have lied.��

But the fact that all the 'charges' were illegal did not stop them from forcing you to undertake the� 'Case Plan.'� There were no charges but they had already taken their eight children out of the home.� If the family had known they would have refused to talk to CPS.

Adam and his wife are now approaching bankruptcy although they are better off than many couples because at least they do not have to hide to keep the child still living with them. Most parents face the same problem.� Attempts to fulfill the case plan make it impossible to earn a living or are impossible to fulfill.� There are no charges.� There have been no charges.� There will be no charges. As with most couples, they force the father to leave so that they will have a clear shot at grabbing the children from the mother.���

CPS has continuously made false allegations, added their youngest child, born after they took the original eight children, to the present case, and over and over ignored the orders of the court.� One of their daughters in foster care is suffering from a wound on her foot, acquired in the foster home, for which she is receiving no treatment.� The wound continues to fester and they can do nothing.���

Although there are no charges Adam and his wife are allowed to see the kids only two hours a week with supervision.� And the court continues to threaten to sever their parental rights. Adam does not intend to let that happen.��

Adam and his wife are considering their options now that they understand the fraud that has been perpetrated.� Those options are growing, along with their understanding of the Constitution and how the system in place has worked to negate their rights.��

Phase Three � Severing Parental Rights

Greg Pound and his wife, Malissa, had their parental rights severed in November of 2007.� The incident that brought CPS into their lives was a simple accident.� A friend's dog visiting their home bit their baby.� It could have happened to anyone; the dog's owner was desperately sorry, the dog had never� harmed anyone before.�� Accidents happen.� There was a time when an accident was treated with offers of assistance, not viewed as the means for grabbing children� from their parents and their home.� But that was before those in power noticed the opportunity PL 105-89 (HR 867) offered them.�

For four years the Pounds saw their children for just two hours a month.� Looking at the children, across the barriers built by CPS always reduced them to tears.�

The last time the Pounds saw their children was at the YMCA in Pinellas County.� That 'not for profit' is paid 125 million a year, just for that county, according to Pound who says he has researched the subject exhaustively, to 'babysit' kids as they meet their parents in a stark ten by twelve foot room for the two hours they are allowed to be together for those months when they still hoped to be reunited.�

The system is intended to separate children, a valuable commodity, from their parents.� Mandates to reunite children and parents are consistently ignored as children are processed further and further into the system. What then happens to the children varies, but is in all cases appalling.�

Along with the system abuse of families parents attempting to work in the system report that FOIA requests on such routine matters as copies of the Oath of Office and bonds, required by the Constitution, for each judge or elected official or law enforcement officer, are not produced, despite repeated requests. Many ask, over and over again, why such requests should be met with silence and hostility.� Parents continue to struggle to regain custody of their children and to exact accountability from those who claim sovereign immunity as government employees from the impact of their acts on ordinary Americans.� The claim of sovereign immunity for those employed by government is, according to Constitutional experts such as not employed by government entirely without foundation.�

The three families whose cases appear here each report that they will never stop fighting.� Each family is presently filing a civil rights suit against those involved in their several cases.� In light of yesterday's revelation on child-sex rings, operating across the United States but very present in their own areas of Florida, their questions are ever more anguished as they deal with the echoing emptiness of homes that once held the laughter of children.���

Randy