Webb did offer this statement after Harris press conference, however: Though Rep. Harris is talking about this adoption, by law we cannot do so and are concerned about the very sensitive and protected information that has been released about vulnerable children. While his resignation certainly would not change these atrocities, Justin Harris has proven that he is not fit to hold the responsibility of writing our laws, and we hope that Gov. It may be in the report you have, but just in case the minors identities are known, we dont want to be specific for their own protection.. Justin Harris has been active as a DJ since 1987 and has been producing since 1994 in collaboration with Luke Solomon and under the names Robotic Movement, Free soul (with Diesel) and Oliloqui for labels like Classic (Luke Solomon and Derrick Carter),.. Read more. We got the little one first; Im pretty sure it was the first weekend of March 2011, Cheryl Hart said. The whole way through, we thought everything was perfect. Children with RAD may be successfully treated, especially if reached at an early age and placed in a stable, loving home, Jensen said. One of the many people who contacted the Times after the original story broke was a therapist who works with children with reactive attachment disorder and who is familiar with DHS. The evaluation covers the latest 5 years and an approximation for next year. While some individuals from West Fork had nothing but harsh words for the Harrises, both Chelsey Goldsborough and the source close to the Harrises said they took no joy in speaking out against the couple. Justin Harris also reached out to the Hart family who was fostering the two youngest sisters at the time. And Im shocked, because they did work with these children at Childrens House, and they saw how difficult foster parents have it with little kids who have mental issues. The extralegal practice is highly controversial a monstrous act, according to adoption advocate John M. Simmons. You can have a degree in child development, but thats not a degree in child development run amok, gone wild.. (Other sources claim Young waited for days to turn the husband over to the police.) Watch popular content from the following creators: Justine Harris(@_justinemariah), Justine Harris(@_justinemariah), Justine Harris(@_justinemariah), Justine Harris(@_justinemariah), Justin Harris(@tiktokfamousjustinharris) . We had a dog, a little Bichon, that they were around all the time and there was never once any issue with her abusing an animal. They were looking for a new house because Marsha had gotten sick. Doctors found that Marsha Harris had a possible cancerous mass sometime in 2013; Goldsborough believes thats why the Harrises eventually sent the girls away. Find your friends on Facebook. State Rep. Justin Harris let his two adopted daughters live with a man who later sexually assaulted the older, 6-year-old girl, the lawmaker said Wednesday, confirming a story first reported by . What happened next led to months of what the couple said were "terrified, sleepless nights" and a dispute about whether they should have taken the little girls in the first place. Greg Leding has filed legislation which would make this practice of rehoming adopted children a felony, and we urge the legislature to pass this legislation in order to protect our most vulnerable citizens - our children in foster care.'. When asked if Blucker had prior knowledge of the rehoming, Webb, the DHS spokesperson, said the agency could not comment due to the confidentiality of adoption cases. Such descriptions could serve as a beacon for predators. Sign Up. I had a big dog outside, and I caught her trying to stick a stick up the dogs nose. Representative Justin Harris and his wife Marsha adopted the girl, six, and her sister, three, through the Arkansas Department of Human Services in March 2013. She was a volunteer and he an intern, confirmed a source familiar with the Harrises. They were not allowed to be around each other because of the Harrises belief in demonic possession and telepathy, she said. As well as production work, Justin's 25 year DJ'ing career has seen him play at hundreds of venues around the world (170 cities in 33 countries and counting) including such respected venues as Fabric (UK), The End (London), Planet K (Manchester), Fuse (Brussels), Rex (Paris), Batofar (Paris), Skanssen (Oslo), Lolita (Barcelona), Robert Johnson Harris denied those accusations. But it was not just DHS. It was also this agency which Harris required to approve his controversial adoptions. And throughout their childhood,police had documented sexual abuse in their home,which experts say can be a strong signal for potential predators. 'As a parent and grandparent, like many Arkansans, I am shocked to learn of Rep. Justin Harris's egregious action of placing two girls he adopted through DHS directly into harms way by sending them to stay with another family without approval from the adoption agency. The Arkansas Supreme Court today dismissed a lawsuit against the state brought by Justin Harris, the former Republican state representative from West Fork best known for a tragically botched. and Mrs. Harris have suffered a severe injustice. 6-year-old girl adopted by Justin and Marsha Harris was re-homed, together with her 3-year-old sister, six months after the adoption was finalized. (Video: KARK 4 News). West Fork, Arkansas, is represented in state government by Republican Rep. Justin Harris. The source said demons were an obsession with Marsha Harris. "She was cute. As a legislator, Harris knew Blucker personally and has some influence over her budget. Arkansas state legislator Rep. Justin Harris gave his adopted daughters away because he and his wife thought they were possessed by demons, according to a report in the Arkansas Times. She just felt tired all the time, and she went in [to the doctor] and they found something and she said, I just dont know if I can handle all this. . Now imagine that happening three different times. That is when they decided to give the girls to the Francis family, and at that point began sending all stipends they received to them. Justin Ross Harris, who prosecutors said intentionally left his 22-month-old son strapped inside a hot car to die because he wanted to live a child-free life, sits in Cobb County Magistrate Court . Primary Menu. Casting out demons: why Justin Harris got rid of kids he applied pressure to adopt "Rep. Justin Harris blames DHS for the fallout related to his adoption of three young girls, but sources familiar with the situation contradict his story and paint a troubling picture of the adoption process and the girls' time in the Harris household." Subscribe now or donate for as little as $1 and be a part of the Arkansas Times community. And I just said, 'God, I can't do it anymore.' He presented himself and his family . Moving from home to home compounds the trauma and the loss, and the grief, Santana said. Donna Ames On March 5, Benjamin Hardy of the Arkansas Times published an explosive investigation about how State Representative Justin Harris . This action directly lead to the rape of the six-year-old girl who Rep. Harris is responsible for and even received government funding to care for through the foster care system. And the Harts said they weren't the only ones who opposed the adoption. She was often confined for hours to her room, where she was monitored by a video camera. Demons told her to not appreciate [her toys] and all that, so they took away all the toys and her colored clothes., Although she was disturbed by what she saw in the household to the extent that she reported it to DHS*, Goldsborough said she felt compelled to continue babysitting for the sake of the girls. She didnt have boundaries, Cheryl Hart recalled. This is not the norm in adoption; most families do well, saidMegan Lestinoof theNational Council for Adoption. Responding to the Arkansas Times report that uncovered Harris rehoming of his children, the state legislator said he was failed by the Department of Human Services when he told employees the girls were too difficult for the family to handle. In the interview with KARK last Friday, Harris said Francis left to spend more time studying for a seminary degree and that the parting was amicable. So she called us out of the blue, the mom, and said Will you take my three girls? People named Justin Harris. A source familiar with DHS indicated that there may be at least some truth to that claim. Years ago, no states had explicitprohibitions against rehoming. Justin Ross Harris: Wiki, Biography, Wife, Age, Kids, Net worth, Parents, Family, Case & More. "Despite what you may have read, we reached out to DHS numerous times and were met with nothing but hostility. According to Goldsborough, the two girls were kept in separate rooms that were outfitted with locks, alarms and video cameras. I hold DHS accountable And Im not sorry for doing it, he declared. Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? But this kid was so sexualized, Id never seen anything like it, the therapeutic foster mother said. But recently,Wisconsin, Colorado, Florida and Louisiana havepassed laws addressing the practice. They initially took in the third. Rancher, 73, is charged with murder on his Arizona land after shooting dead Mexican, 48, who had history of illegal crossings into US and multiple deportations: Judge refuses to reduce $1M bail despite plea his wife is alone, Getting his Minnie's worth! Because Im about ready to lose them to DHS. . Our daughters are a precious gift from God and truly a blessing to each one of our lives and our extended family and friends. Follow. The story first surfaced in April 2013. I care what my wife thinks about me, and I care what my three sons think about me. Goldsborough said the Harrises showed her a picture of [Mary] where theyre like, You can see the demon rising from her back, and it just looked like a little 6-year-old to me. [Mary was 4 or 5.] State officials also did not act when they learned that theHarrises had given the girlsto another family, according to the Times, until it was too late. And they knew [Mary] had been sexually assaulted, and she would have some anger issues. The former DHS employee the Times contacted for this story independently confirmed this account of the Valentines Day meeting. See who the key figures are in this strange story. At a press conference last week, Justin Harris said the adopted girls' behavioral problems caused him to fear for his biological children's safety: One of his new daughters crushed a family pet. We still are in contact with a lot of our former fosters who have been adopted. With attachment comes a sense of security; without it, a child may experience a heightened wariness of his or her environment, become withdrawn, and be unable to respond to attempts at comfort. She was the toughest kid I ever had, but when she finally came through and I realized I could take her to our homeschool co-op, she was just like a normal kid. For the most part, Harris peers in the legislature are keeping quiet about the controversy, but the public at large is paying attention to the story. As she points out, these families are not vetted in the same way an agency would vet other potential parents. Some adoption specialists do a hell of a job. We started through our church. Taking toys away for long periods of time thats just the wrong thing, a nave idea, Jensen said. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. (Count 1: Malice Murder. [The biological] mom wanted to have control of what happened to the children and Marsha and I said we didnt want to go through DHS because of some issues wed had with them in the past. (Roughly around this time, in late 2011, the Harrises were feuding with DHS over an investigation involving Growing Gods Kingdom that found the school included overtly Christian instruction despite receiving public money. The girls had regular counseling at Childrens House in Springdale, a center specializing in mental health treatment for young victims of abuse. When they began living with the Harrises in 2012, Jeannette was around 6, Mary was 4 and Annie was around 2. One day that same month, with Stacey Francis out of town, Eric Francis acted. The legislator adopted three girls and turned them over to a man who abused one of them. We see this happening in orphanages and kids moved into foster care at a young age. Copyright 2023 IBTimes LLC. The two youngest girls were taken into the Harts foster home. This was my last effort at being a good mother., Our idea was going to be to have a private adoption, Harris said in the KARK interview. View Justin Harris's business profile as Assistant Vice President & Regional Manager, Underwriting, Southeast Region at PURE Insurance. Justin Harris adopted girls in 2013 - then gave them away after six months Handed them over to Eric Francis, who went on the rape the six-year-old Francis was convicted of sex crimes in 2014. They were thrown in with a lot of transient people in their lives before us. While caring for the two girls, Eric Francis wasemployed briefly at Growing Gods Kingdom, the Christian day-care owned by Harris. Since 2013, he has represented District 81, which includes parts of Washington and Crawford counties. If the checker at Walmart asked if she wanted to go home with her, she would. An emotional Rep. Justin Harris (R-West Fork), his wife at his side, told reporters at a press conference last week that he sent his two adopted daughters to live with another family, where one of them was later sexually abused, because he would have faced abandonment charges by the state. With 15 years fostering some 70 children, the Harts were veterans at living with tough kids. We decided to adopt two girls. The ex-wife of a Georgia dad on . Attachment to a mother or father figure is a deep, biological need and necessary for normal social development, Jensen said. Mary, they said, had some problems at preschool tantrums and occasional inappropriate behavior. This practice is legal in almost every single state in the country, even though it is a form of human trafficking. After Jeannette entered DHS supervision in early 2011, she bounced around between foster care and inpatient psychiatric treatment before landing in a therapeutic foster home in May 2011. Justin is related to Janon L White . On. In most conversations with us, [Harris] would mention Ceciles name. Justin Harris told 20/20 that "We're not sleepin'. Later that year, the couple contacted DHS about their intentions. He said he thought hed found the perfect solution in handing the girls over to Stacey Francis, a longtime friend of his wifes, and her husband, Eric Cameron Francis. To both Young and the Harrises, it must have seemed like providence. But even that can be treated.. When DHS takes children from a home, its usually assumed to be temporary the eventual goal being reunification with the birth family but the agency will move to terminate parental rights if it determines the birth parents are unfit. Nearly a dozen people interviewed by theTimestell a different story of Justin and Marsha Harris dealings with DHS and their relationship with the three young girls. Rep. Justin Harris, R-West Fork, asks a question Friday in the House Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs. Many of the online posts say the unwanted children have physical or mental disabilities. She did so good. We are deeply grieved over Justin Harris accusations toward our daughters in order to self-protect;it is inexcusable. Rep. Eddie Armstrong released a statement on behalf of the House Democrats in the state, saying: 'First, our thoughts and prayers are with this little girl and other children that may have been exposed to injury as a consequence of this practice. They argued they were more than capable of raising these young girls. As of Tuesday, a Change.org petition calling for Harris resignation had garnered 5,000 signatures. Id take her to parks and she wouldnt run off or act all crazy or beat other children to death she was just another kid.. SCOTUS Nom The foster kids are cominginto the foster system because they have been abused or neglected. They loved each other. Harris later suggested in the KARK interview that the agency was threatening him because of his political beliefs. There are far too few foster parents, and children often end up having to stay at the DHS overnight with a worker, sometimes for several days on end because there are no placement options. Representative Justin Harris, pictured last month, gave his two adopted daughters to a friend after they threatened his family with violence, he said. They were not a challenge compared to a lot of kids weve had, but we were familiar with their kinds of behaviors, Cheryl Hart said. Wallis warned Harris there was a possibility that DHS could charge them with abandonment if they took such action. 'They knew, suddenly knew, that this was their forever home, and they were no longer ever going back to Mom's house. 'Rep. And though the two youngest girls had never given the Harts any severe problems, they did not believe the younger sisters should be placed in a home with any young children because of the abuse they had suffered in the past. ), DHS, Harris said, would not let him and Marsha adopt the girls privately that is, via the legal documents drafted by their attorney attempting to transfer custody from Young to their family. They got therapy every day play therapy, occupational therapy, anger management.. Thats part of the process you want. Justin Leroy Harris, 48. For reasons similar to their own, the Harts said DHS therapists, case workers, adoption specialists and other former foster parents also warned that this would not be the right fit. It was the only chance I had to keep my girls together. It is an overall forecast for the net worth of Justin Harris. Other sources confirmed to theTimesthat Marsha Harris told them at least one exorcism was performed on the girls.
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