Child of Matthew and Amy Sweeney
An 8 year old adopted son of Matthew and Amy Sweeney ran away from home after yet another beating and sought help from a neighbor. The child had deep bruising across his arms and back that indicated that he received frequent brutal beatings, but was otherwise healthy. The neighbor reported the abuse and he was […]
Adam Herrman
Doug and Valerie Herrman are accused of abusing their adopted son, Adam, and of not reporting he was missing after his 1999 disappearance at age 11 or 12. The couple continued to collected adoption subsidy payments until what would have been Adam’s 18th birthday, but told family that Adam had returned to state custody. The […]
Children of Tom and Debra Schmitz
All 18 of the children living with Tom and Debra Schmitz, some adopted and some biological, were removed from their home after a nurse in their employ reported abuse and neglect. Many of the children had been placed with them illegally, but the Schmitzes insisted that they felt called by God to care for needy […]
3 Children of Mark and Susan Hooper
Mark Hooper, 42, and his wife, Susan Hooper, 20, have been charged with starving their 9, 10, and 11 year old adopted children. Mark is the pastor of a local Baptist church and Susan homeschooled the children. In February of 2013 the 9 year old girl ran away to seek help. The girl was taken […]
Child of Kathryn and Kenneth Kreier
Kathryn Kreier punished her 14 year old adopted daughter by depriving her of food, forcing her to sleep outside naked, and fracturing her fingers. Her husband Kenneth Kreier, the girl’s biological father, did nothing to stop the abuse. The abuse took place between September 2007 and December 2008, during which the girl’s weight fell from […]
3 Children of Leslie Tiesler and Brad Thill
Leslie Tiesler is accused of starving three adopted sons, aged 13 and 14, shooting them with a BB gun, beating them with a spoon, and confining them to a tool chest for days. There were two other two children in the home, one biological. Leslie’s ex-husband, Brad Thills, adopted the four children in 2008, but […]
2 Children of David and Glenda Kinghorn
David and Glenda Kinghorn had 2 biological children and four adopted children, and took in as many as 8 additional children from disrupted adoptions. David was charged and convicted of raping one of these children, a girl aged 13. There were also allegations that the Kinghorns punched a 10 year old boy, Sasha Bignell (one […]
3 Children of Kenneth H. Brandt
Kenneth H. Brandt pleaded guilty to raping his three sons, ages 9 to 12; two were adopted and the other was in the process of being adopted. Brandt also pleaded guilty to prostituting one of the boys, aged 10, out to two other men. Not long before the sexual abuse was discovered, Brandt had removed […]
5 Children of John and Linda Dollar
John and Linda Dollar are accused of abusing their 5 adopted children, ages 12, 13, 14, 14, and 16, by branding them with a cattle prod, striking their feet with hammers, pulling out their toenails with pliers, and binding them with chains. The Dollars also deprived the children of food to the extent that the […]
2 Children of Dwayne and Pamela Hardy
Investigators responding to an anonymous tip found two children, aged 6 and 9, malnourished and scarred from beatings. Dwayne and Pamela Hardy had adopted the two children six months earlier, and homeschooled the two just as they had their four biological children, who were now grown. The couple “disciplined” the children by frequently depriving them […]
