Ivan Skorobogatov: Another Dead Adoptee

Mirah Riben, author of The Dark Side of Adoption and The Stork Market appeared on the English language Russian Television (RT) yesterday to discuss international adoption corruption and the death of Russian adoptee Nathaniel Craver, born Ivan Skorobogatov. Vanya, 7, died on August 25, 2009 after being taken off life support. In 2003, he and his twin sister Dasha (now known as Elizabeth) were adopted from an orphanage in Chelyabinsk. His forever family, Michael Craver, 45 and Nanette, 54 Craver have been charged with homicide, conspiracy and child endangerment. The autopsy revealed Vanya suffered 80 external injuries, including 20 to the head. The Cravers are currently being held in the York County Jail with no bond.

The case has been handled very badly by authorities in Carroll Twn, Pennsylvania where the boy lived. This is a big story in Russia and it won't' go away.

I have been collecting information on the case, and have gotten behind in posting due to other work. I'll have something shortly.

ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION SCANDAL YOU WON'T HEAR ABOUT: CASEY JOHNSON,

NOTE: Although this is not about an abused or dead adoptee from Russia or the former SU, it is about adoption corruption in the US and Kazakhstan.

This story should have legs--should run all over AdoptionLand. But will it?

Johnson & Johnson heiress,socialite, wannabe actress, fiancee of attention pig Tila Tequila, and now dead Casey Johnson. left behind a 3-year old adopted daughter acquired in Kazakhstan: Ava-Monroe (after Marilyn).

Parent Dish has the best article on this travesty that I've seen so far: Opinion: Why was Casey Johnson allowed to adopt? Little seems to be known publicly about the adoption, but we can assuredly answer Parent Dish's question: $$$$.

For those unfamiliar with Ms. Johnson and the adoption, here's a rundown from Parent Dish with links left in for your convenience:

The socialite moved in star-studded circles and counted among her best friends Paris and Nicky Hilton. Her lifestyle was far from stable, as revealed by the fact that her mother, Sale, felt it necessary to take custody of Ava, The Huffington Post reports. Just last month, Johnson and her girlfriend, reality TV star Tila Tequila, flew from Los Angeles to New York City in an attempt to regain custody of the child -- and came home empty-handed...

But Johnson's case is different: How is it possible that her wealth and family name outweighed the obvious facts of her life? Reports of her lifestyle offer ample evidence that she was a less-than-ideal adoptive parent. According to one particularly damning story in the New York Daily News, a family friend said Sale Johnson helped her daughter recover from a couple of diabetic comas; Johnson was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes as a child and according to a friend, her "body couldn't metabolize the drugs and alcohol she was using." The Daily News also reports that Johnson has been in and out of rehab for drug problems.

A medical form required by the government of Kazakhstan, lists several diseases that prohibit prospective parents from adopting a child from the country, including alcoholism, drug addiction and toxicomania.

These characteristics of Johnson's life would have presented significant road blocks for an ordinary single woman looking to adopt a child.

We aren't the only ones who question the wisdom of giving Johnson custody of a child. "Casey was probably the last person who should have been taking care of a baby," a family friend tells the News. And Eonline reports that Child Protective Services paid Johnson at least two visits.

Johnson had originally attempted to adopt a Cambodian girl, but the plan fell through when Cambodian adoptions were suspended. Johnson's aunt built an orphanage in Cambodia, and there are conflicting reports about her possible intervention in the adoption plan. After the adoption crash, Johnson's godmother, Diandra Douglas, (Michael Douglas's ex and a whole repro trip herself) who had recently adopted a child from Ukraine gave Johnson the names of adoption agencies to ease her pain. Ava was adopted in 2007.

Here is how the Huffington Post, in a January 6, 2010 article, describes the adoption. Casey's quotes are from a 2007 interview with MTV correspondent SuChin Pak, made before the placement. The interview, in which Johnson sounds like she' playing Barbie house, is linked in the article and also on Parent Dish.

She's the most beautiful baby I've ever seen," Casey said. "She's blond-haired, blue-eyed, looks just like Diandra, and I thought, 'Oh, my gosh! This is what I'm going to do."

Casey got a referral for a Kazakh agency and without hassle was sent a picture of the baby girl she would adopt. "It was the best day of my life," she said about seeing her future daughter's picture. Casey said she didn't plan on spoiling Ava, but wanted to make sure she looked stylish.

"Obviously I want her to look the best that she can the cutest that she can," she said. "So I'm going to buy her a lot of clothes."

Johnson's former girlfriend, Jasmine Lennard, a contestant on the British TV show Make Me a Super Model, if she is to be believed, has as less "romantic" story told in the December 10, 2009 (updated from December 2) issue of the New York Post:

Basically, she got bored of buying herself bags and shoes and bought herself a daughter from Kazakhstan in 2007, but was too crazy to look after her. Her mother, Sale, took Ava and brought her to New York, which is the best place for her.

Casey basically needs to go into rehab for a long time. She has walked out [of treatment programs] twice against her parents' wishes, so they told her no more money. The last time she left early a few months ago and wrote at the bottom of her exit form: '[Bleep] you -- keep the money.'

Whatever, the truth, something went terribly wrong, or more correctly, was never right to begin with.

Ava has been in the care of Johnson's mother, Sale Johnson and her husband, sportscaster and former NFL star Ahmad Rashad, but there are conflicting reports of when they removed the girl from Casey, ranging from late 2009 to 2 years ago. According to Eonline:

She'd [Casey Johnson] see Ava maybe for 10 minutes a day," one source said. "Casey was either sleeping or going out. Nannies really took care of her."

Sale became especially worried in the last year or so as Casey's erratic behavior seemed to worsen, highlighted by her longtime substance-abuse problems and a run-in with the law (she was arrested and charged with grand theft in November). On top of that, Casey made a surprise announcement last month that she and reality-TV personality Tila Tequila were engaged to be married.

There was apparently an unsuccessful attempt to have Casey committed to a mental facility.

The New York Post reported on January 6, 2010 (updated from December 21, 2009), that Casey' father, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson and family members had recently restricted Casey's access to funds, because of her continued refusal to seek help. The Post quoted Jasmine Lennard from its earlier article:

She's been in rehab several times but has never finished the programs....She can't pay her bills, so the electricity was cut off. She can't put gas in her car," said our source. "She's been keeping her Porsche in the garage because she's afraid it will be repossessed.

Lennard who had visited her recently, described Johnson's living conditions:

When I went to her rented house on Mulholland Drive recently, it was like Grey Gardens," our source said. "There are dirty dishes everywhere and rotting food. There is graffiti on the walls. The pool looks like a swamp.

Matters weren't helped with the bizarre December 9, 2009 YouTube announcement from Johnson and Tequila that they intended to marry. From the December 21/January 6 Post:

Tila and Casey announced their engagement this month with a video they posted online of themselves in bed wearing only bras and panties.

As Casey smiles in an apparent stupor, Tequila rants: "Look at this ring. Its 18-carat because my baby is ballin'. We are going to make love tonight for our honeymoon . . . She adopted a baby, Ava, and I love children. We already have a family. We are going to buy a house together and, once we get situated, throw an engagement party

Some time in December 2009, Casey and Tila flew to New Yorik and attempted unsuccessfully to regain physical custody of Ava. According to the Huffington Post:

Casey and Tila Tequila flew out to New York in an attempt to reclaim Ava from Sale but came back empty-handed. Ava remains under her grandmother's care, although other bizarre custody offers have been forthcoming.

The link to those "bizarre custody offers" takes us to a January 5, 2010 HuffPo article:

Casey always made me promise if anything happened to her I would watch over her baby Ava, and with her family's blessing I will honor that promise," she told the magazine.

As if this whole story isn't repulsive enough, shortly before her death, Johnson was charged with grand theft after Lennard accused her of breaking into her home, masturbating in her bed with her (Jasmine's) vibrator, and stealing 600 pages of legal documents and her underwear. (In October, Lisa Marie Alvarez, the girlfriend of another of Johnson's former girlfriends, Courtenay Semel, daughter of former Yahoo bigwig , Terry Semel, set Johnson's hair on fire during a fist fight at Semel's home.

This is adopter material?

How many international adoption agency tragedies and travesties will the US tolerate? As long as big bucks are involved, apparently a lot. We've heard not a peep or even a mild tsk tsk out JCICS or the National Council for Adoption, and the whole story of Casey Johnson being an international adopter has been pretty limited to an afterthought.

It's easy for us to ask:

Who in the world let Casey Johnson adopt Ava?

Who did the home study?

How did a young single woman with obvious and major health, substance abuse, and untreated mental problems get past the so-called gatekeepers?

What agency was Ava siphoned through?

We don't know the answer to who and what, but as I said above, we all know that answer to how and why" $$. Like Matthew Mancuso who walked in and wrote a fat check for Masha Allen, Casey Johnson was allowed a free pass to purchase the blond, blue-eyed look-alike to play house with.

I have been unable to find a list of agencies working in Kazakhstan when Ava was adopted. If evidence of the adoption appeared on any agency website, though, it has certainly been scrubbed by now. Perhaps there are readers who have a lead. If so, please let me know.

I won't hold my breath for the Kazakh government to file a complaint or demand an inquiry with the State Department, Money talks and bullshit walks and bullshit reigns supreme in Kazakhstan. At least it did when I lived in Russia.

I hope this story doesn't die. Everybody is all caught up in the celebrity death ritual and Tila Tequila' reprehensible attempt to make it all about her. Reportedly, Tila has claimed she wants to take care of Ava (ha!), but has been mostly busy Tweeting suicide threats, whining about Nicky Hilton (Ava'a godmother) and Bijou Phillips clearing out Tila's home of Johnson's dogs and belongings, and being outraged at being excluded from the funeral. Oh, and now she says she's pregnant, a surrogate for her brother and his wife. If you can stomach it, here's Tequila's Twitter account.

According to reports, Ava is "well-adjusted" (if so, probably due to the heroic work of those unnamed nannies and the intervention of Sale Johnson) and always well dressed. The picture on the left of her and Sale Johnson appeared in the September 9 issue of New York Social Diary. She looks happy. I hope so.

Casey Johnson was a rich, sad, disturbed woman in desperate need of help. Instead, she was allowed to adopt a little girl. It didn't make it all better.

SMALL MASHA UPDATE

This week James Marsh has published two blogs about Masha Allen's case:

PA's lax judicial oversight in the Masha Allen case :

During the past four years numerous questions have been raised about how and why then-Allegheny County Judge Cheryl Lynn Allen was allowed to preside over the adoption of Masha Allen by her namesake and former roommate Faith Allen.

Includes links Marsh's documents regarding Masha (Have a strong stomach and a crash helmet on while reading.)

Masha Allen's celebrated adoption--What went wrong?, a collection of quotes from the the media and public figures who supposedly stood in Masha's corner, including this from Cong. Phil Gingrey (above left with Masha and Faith Allen's Angel in Adoption co-sponsor):

Faith Allen is a shining example of the selfless love adoptive parents give their children. Faith is more than just Masha’s adoptive mother; she is her pillar of support, providing encouragement as Masha bravely shares her story. Everyone who spends time with Faith and Masha feels the warmth and kindness that make Faith an Angel in Adoption.”

Gingrey hung Marsha out to dry when allegations of abuse by Faith were made known to him. To quote Marsh, Gingrey claimed it was a "'parental rights issue'" and related that Masha was a 'bad kid' who was 'causing trouble' for her 'loyal and dedicated' award-winning foster-adopt mom Faith Allen."

I don't want to reinvent the wheel. Go over to Pound Pup Legacy and read Niel's extensive Masha Page. Currently there is a very informative discussion posted under The untold story of Masha Allen.. Though originally posted last fall, this entry it has recently picked up speed. If you read nothing else about Masha read this one.

When will Masha have justice?

C NOBYM GODOM - 2010

Very little was posted here this year. We hope that indicates that the abuse and murders of Russian adoptees has greatly decreased. This is the longest period of time in several years in which no deaths were reported (that we know of). But we remain diligent.

We have found no update on the Brian Dale Dykstra case (birth name unknown), which is now nearly 4 1/2 years old. We, do however, have an update on at least one other case, which we'll write and post next week.

Although we doubt Masha Allen will ever have "closure" (what a phony and misleading word!) we do hope that with her federal case on track, and with Faith Allen out of the picture, she can at least move forward.

Masha, we are with you!

Here is a classic Russian cartoon from 1975 to bring in the new year. You don't have to understand Russian to get the message.

MASHA ALLEN TERMINATED AGAIN! FAITH ALLEN WALKS AWAY

BIG news on Masha Allen (born Mariya Nikolaevna Yashenkova) tonight.

On December 3, 2009 Faith Allen's parental rights were been terminated! Masha is once more an "orphan." Twice adopted. Twice terminated.

Custody was returned to Cambria County Children and Youth Services. Masha's whereabouts and physical and emotional well-being are unknown.

Masha's newest attorneys Francis P. Maneri and Darren Summerville have filed a motion in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey to appoint Masha's current Pennsylvania State guardian ad litem, Timothy J. Sloan, as her new representative party in the Federal complaint.

From the language of the motion, it appears Faith Allen (right) terminated her parental rights voluntarily and walked out the door. If I learn more I will post it here.

We hope that this new development marks the beginning of justice for Masha, though no amount of money can ever compensate her seemingly never-ending abuse, pain, neglect, and exploitation at the hands of Matthew Mancuso, Faith Allen, the adoption industry, venal courts, social workers, and politicians. We hope Timotohy Sloan does right by her. As I wrote a few years ago, Masha is "the Rosetta Stone of corrupt international adoption."

Links to other sites covering Masha:
Pound Pup Legacy: Masha Allen Page (many links to resources including an expose of grifter Allen)
Child Law Blog, James Marsh
Baby Love Child (use search engine)

also see Congressional Hearing: Exploitation of Children on the Internet: Follow-up Issues on the Masha Allen Adoption

The entire motion can be found on Marsh's blog. I am re-typing relevant parts below.

MASHA ALLEN, by her, Parent and
Guardian FAITH ALLEN, Plaintiff,

v

FAMILIES THRU INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION
INC. , Defendants,

and

FAMILIES THRU INTERNATIONAL
ADOPTION, INC., Third Party Plaintiff,

v

ADAGIO HEALTH, INC. (formerly
known as Family Health Council, Inc, and
trading as Family Adoption Center, Third
Party Defendant

Civil Action NO:
08-4614 (JHR)(AMD

PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO
AMEND/SUBSTITUTE/ADD
PARTIES

Motion Returnable: February 1,
2010

...By law, Masha is legally incompetent to maintain a lawsuit. At the outset of this litigation, the proper representative party Plaintiff was Faith Allen, Masha's adoptive parent. Factually and legally Faith Allen's ability to maintain this lawsuit has changed, necessitating this Motion. Plaintiff respectfully asks that this court allow amendment of the pleadings to reflect a new representative party Plaintiff, Timothy J. Sloan. Mr. Sloan has been and continues to be Masha's guardian ad litem based upon a pending action in the Juvenile Court in the Cambria County, Pennsylvania Court of Common Please ("Juvenile Court").

Alternatively, under Rule 17(s) Plaintiff asks that this Court appoint Mr. Sloan as a guardian ad litem in this matter, to prosecute the litigation in Masha's Allen's best interests.

1. Faith Allen is No Longer Masha Allen's Proper Representative

Faith Allen, as Masha Allen's Parent and Guardian, initiated this litigation on September 15, 2008...On or about August 18, 2009, Faith Allen freely and voluntarily executed a consent to adoption with respect to Masha pursuant to 23 Pa C.S.A. 2711. Because Faith Allen did not revoke this consent to adoption within the statutorily allowed 30-day revocation period, it became irrevocable subject to narrow exceptions The Orphan's Court with jurisdiction over the matter has now terminated Faith Allen's legal rights as a parent to Masha Allen. Dec. 3 Order of the Court...

For several years Masha Allen has been subject to the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court division of the Common Please Court. As part of these proceedings, attorney Timothy J. Sloan was appointed and has continuously served as her guardian ad litem. These proceedings remain open and Mr. Sloan remains Masha's guardian ad litem.

Plaintiff's counsel has explained the status of the present litigation to Mr. Sloan who has agreed, pending this Court's permission, to serve as Masha Allen's party representative going forward. Plaintiff respectfully requests such relief.

II. Amended Under Rule 15 is Necessary and Proper.

Leave to amend should be freely given when justice requires. Fed R. Civ P 15(a))s). Plaintiff Masha Allen asks that leave be granted to amend the pleading to reflect Timothy Sloan becoming Plaintiff's party representative as her guardian ad litem. Such and amendment has become necessary give the legal impossibility of going forward in this matter with the current party representative, Faith Allen.

Faith Allen's parental rights, including the right to serve as Masha Allen's legal representative have been terminated. Masha Allen , a minor, cannot bring this lawsuit in her individual capacity. Rule 17, of course, allows an unrepresented minor to sue through her guardian ad litem. Fed. R Civ.p 17(c). Mr Sloan has been Masha Allen's guardian in a different litigation for yearsw, and is well situated to represent her interests in this matter. ...

...Faith Allen's actions have effectively stranded Masha Allen in this litigation, as Faith is no longer a proper party representative. But Mr. Sloan is, either in his current capacity or as appointed by the Court....

POUND PUP LEGACY: MASHA ALLEN UPDATE AND WEBPAGE

Niels at Pound Pup Legacy has put up a tremendous page on Masha Allen. The page is a 1-stop resource for activists, researchers, adoption reformers, and media who have been following the case. I was aware of some of these new developments, but hadn't had the time to write about them. Other developments are new to me.

Kudos to Niels--and those who continue to care about Masha and continue to fight!

And may those "adoption professionals," child welfare "experts" and courts who betrayed Masha burn in hell.

S NOVYM GODOM!--HAPPY NEW YEAR

There's nothing like ringing in the new year with the classic Soviet New Year's film The Carnival Night. Made in 1956, the film is shown each year at New Year's on Russian television.

For the uneducated (which is about everybody west of the Baltic Sea) here is a synopsis of this great film:

It is the New Year's Eve and the employees of an Economics Institute are ready with their annual New Year's entertainment program. It includes a lot of dancing, singing, and even magic tricks. Suddenly, an announcement is made that a new director has been elected and that he is arriving shortly. Comrade Ogurtsov arrives in time to review and disapprove of the scheduled entertainment. To him, holiday fun has a different meaning. He imagines speakers reading annual reports to show the Institute's progress over the year, and, perhaps, a bit of serious music, something from the Classics, played by the Veterans' Orchestra.

Obviously, no one wants to change the program a few hours before the show, much less to replace it with something so boring! Now everyone has to team up in order to prevent Ogurtsov from getting to the stage. As some of them trap Ogurtsov one way or another, others perform their scheduled pieces and celebrate New Years.

Here is the show stopper performed by legendary Lyudmila Gurchenko in her first leading role.




If you can't get enough of this, go to the trailer. (The clip above is included in it). Everything about this film rocks: the apparatchik, the songs, the sets, the costumes, the dancers, the music. The best big band show I've ever seen starts at 4:48. Even if you don't know Russian, you can get the idea easy. Just think: hey kids. Let's put on a show.



С Новым Годом
S Novym Godom!
Happy New Year

DMITRY YAKOLEV/CHASE HARRISON: A FEW WEEKEND UPDATES

NOTE: I want to thank the hundreds of Russian-language readers who are reading Bastardette and Nikto Ne Zabyt regarding Dima. . Thank you very much for your friendship and support and caring about adopted Russia's adopted children in the US.

******

MORE RUSSIAN REACTION
I still can find no official statement regarding the Harrison verdict on the Russian Embassy or the Foreign Ministry pages.

A press release from the Ministry of Education and Science is now on the ministry's English-language page:

Excerpt:
The justificatory verdict casts doubt on effectiveness and reliability of the protection of adopted children's rights system in the USA and will result in toughening the requirements to Russian children's adoption by USA citizens. We must be sure that our children's rights are entirely protected in this country; and if a tragic incident happens, even because of an action by accident, severe punishment will be inevitable", - stressed A. Levitskaya.

WUVR: Voice of Russia Broadcasting (English)
December 18, 2008 (English)
US Adoption System in Need of Review

Excerpt:
The Virginia Court’s decision went virtually unnoticed in the US media, but it was give high prominence in Russia’s media which overwhelmingly deplored the court’s ruling... This horrible case prompts obvious questions. How could a grow-up person believed to be in his right mind could be so careless as to leave an infant in mortal danger even for a minute? And if the man isn’t in his right mind, how was it possible for his family to adopt a child in the first place?

Russia Today (English)
December 18, 2008
Moscow outraged over adopted Russian boy manslaughter

Excerpt:
Russian Foreign Ministry says it's outraged by the decision to clear Miles Harrison, who left the baby in a car during blazing summer heat.

Due to spacing problems, I am posting the English-language video news report that goes with this article at the bottom of this entry.

MORE AMERICAN RESPONSE
Over at the Washington Post there's a civilized discussion about Marc Fisher's column Why Was Father of Who Killed Son in Car Acquitted? AND a survey on the verdict. As I write this, only 51% disagree with Judge Ney and the acquittal.

Excerpt:
As much as the father has suffered, and as much as he proved in court that he truly did love and adore that boy, Judge Terrence Ney's decision unjustly fails to hold Harrison accountable for his negligence. Just because someone who does wrong feels terribly about his misdeed does not absolve the justice system of its responsibility to hold all of us to a standard of decent behavior... and

It's hard for me to see how anyone, parent or not, could conclude that leaving a child unattended for a full day in a steamy hot car--essentially forgetting about the existence of the life that you have been entrusted with protecting and cherishing--could be chalked up to accident.

One Response:
Outrageous, but not surprising. Take this scenario and change the economic circumstances of the parents to poor or working class. Or change the social characteristics to or black. There would have been a different decision. Judges don't like to punish people who they perceive as good, except for one 'mistake.' The law is interpreted favorably for the 'right' kind of people. The 'wrong' kind of people know this, which explains their low opinion of and trust in the justice system.

IT'S ABOUT ADOPTION
Finally, Baby Love Child has written a tremendously important blog on why the Harrison case IS about adoption: Dmitry's Death and Miles Harrison's Acquittal, Part II, The American Reaction. . Part 3 just went up, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet.

She has quoted part of it in her comment posted on my previous blog, but I want to put an excerpt here:

...the American audience fails to understand the important responsibilities an adoptive couple take on when they sign on to adopting a child. Perhaps the primary difference between a child in an adoptive situation and children born to their parents is that adoptive families are on some level (allegedly at least) vetted. They have agreed to take on the task of raising a child that is not biologically their own. They have had to prove that they will make “fit” parents to the child that will eventually come to be placed with them. When they sign the adoption papers, they have intentionally taken on the responsibility for that child. Add in the international adoption component, in the case of Russian adoptees, they retain their Russian citizenship, and what you have is essentially, an American couple that has jumped through enough hoops as to agree to take on not only raising a child who is not their own flesh and blood, but is additionally a citizen of another country. This carries with it many responsibilities, above and beyond what biological parents face. Be that reporting obligations back to the country of origin, or obligations to be attentive, and to provide safety and security. Adoptive parents sign their names to promises pertaining to the ongoing disposition and welfare of the child they are adopting.

******

It is clear that Moscow isn't happy and intends to take a hard line on this judicial miscarriage. The Russian government and the media are watching and reporting on the case carefully including the apparent non-interest outside the Beltway. (Obviously, if the Harrisons had lived somewhere else and weren't Washington Somebodies, WDC wouldn't be paying much attention either. (ex: The recent Emelyantsev case in Utah). I expect to see repercussions from this American folly that go way beyond adoption. US officials have used international adoption in the past as leverage to push other countries around, but this time, they might just get a kick in the pants back.

By the way, there has been no comment from European Adoption Consultants, who handled the adoptions of Chase and Logan Higginbotham (scroll down) and who ended up dead when her forever mother cracked her skull open on a bedroom wall.l But they sure have been reading what I have to say about them.

ADDENDA: December 20, 6:30 PM: I no sooner posted this entry when a story from WJLA-TV came through, Adoptive Parents Worry After Loudon Man is Acquitted in Son's Death. It should be titled Adoption Industry and Adoptive Parents Worry... The usual ME ME ME with absolutely no comprehension of what went down at Fairfax Courthouse or a care for Dima. The article has a link to the video, which has much more impact than the written story.


Russia Today Video:

HARRISON VERDICT: A GROWING "INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT"

NOTE: For a complete listing of my entries on the Dmitry Yakolev/Chase Harrison case go to "labels" in the right sidebar and click on "Dmitry Yakolev" or "Chase Harrison." The same articles are archived under both names. Also, for international readers, at the top of this page is a link to the Reverso translator.

Over the last couple days some commenters have observed that the Yakolev/Harrison case is not so much about adoption, but a sad commentary on American life: that a child, adopted or not, can be forgotten in a hot car and die, while parents go about their hectic lives forgetting what they did with him or her. In a general sense, I don't disagree with this. The dead baby in the hot/cold car is largely an American phenomenon. In fact, I wrote in my previous blog:

Yet Dima, who died in part, because of the wacky American consumer lifestyle, deserves justice, which has not been served him. Privileged workaholic exburanites do not always good parents make, even with their open checkbooks.

Russia, however, doesn't view Dima's death as an American lifestyle dysfunction. The verdict is viewed instead as an American adoption dysfunction and a miscarriage of justice that calls into question the status and rights of adopted children--Russian citizens-- in the US. For some, the argument extends to all children adopted and living in the US.

Earlier today I wrote about the Russian reaction and one implication to the verdict--a toughened post-placement policy for US adopters. But things have heated up considerably since this afternoon. Ministries and the Russian press have ramped up the attack I suggest you go to my previous blog as background and then come back here.

Here is the update.

Pravda via ITAR-Tass, under the headline US man who made adopted son die terrible death in hot car found not guilty, quotes Russian Embassy press secretary Yevgeny Khorishko:

It is an open secret that US courts often use exemption law in their practice. This is exactly the reason why Miles Harrison avoided a prison term. The Supreme Court of the State of Virginia ruled in 1930 that a person, who incidentally murders another person, even if he or she can be accused of negligence, shall not be considered a criminal if his or her negligence is not the consequence of complete disdain for human life...

We suggest the US authorities should appeal against the blatant ruling, which relieves the murderer of the juvenile Russian citizen of responsibility. The unfair verdict must be revised...

We do not understand, what was guiding the judge when he found no formal element of a crime in the actions of the adoptive father and relived him of punishment. We know how strict US laws are when it comes to the protection of children’s rights. In this case, however, we do not understand the gentleness, which the judge showed to the man, who had left the little boy locked up in his car to die a terrible death in sweltering summer heat.

Stronger criticism comes from the Russian Foreign Ministry. The complete statement does not appear yet on the Foreign Ministry English-language webpage, but excerpts were quoted in today's Loudoun (Virgina) Times which went online tonight: Not guilty verdict of Purcellville man could become international incident

The child, originally named Dmitry Yakolev and later re-named Chase Harrison, was adopted from Russia at a cost to the Harrisons of about $80,000. At the time of his death the toddler was still a Russian citizen, according to the Russian Embassy.

"He would have remained a Russian citizen until he reached legal age, at which time he could renounce his citizenship if he chose," said Yevgeniiy Khorishko, press secretary for the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC. "It is just awful that the person who killed this child has been pardoned," Khorishko added.

On Dec. 18, Russia's Foreign Ministry condemned Harrison's acquittal in an official statement, "We are deeply angered by the verdict of the Fairfax County Court in Virginia. We consider it to be repulsive and unprecedented, even if in this case--unlike in others--it was criminal negligence thqt led to a tragic outcome, rather than deliberate ill-treatment. The decision of the judge, who did not see the crime in Harrison's actions and released him without penalty, goes beyond any legal and moral framework," it stated.

And here is a report from The Moscow Times, December 19, 2008: Tough new rules for adoptive US parents featuring Alina Levitskaya from the Ministry of Education and Science and State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov:

Russia tightened controls over adoptions a few years ago after several children died at the hands of U.S. parents, and Wednesday's acquittal will lead to a further clampdown, said Alina Levitskaya, head of the Education and Science Ministry's child welfare department. The verdict "casts doubts" on adopted children's rights in the United States and "will lead to a tightening of requirements for the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens," Levitskaya said in a statement on the ministry's web site...

Yevgeny Khorishko, spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Washington, said U.S. authorities should appeal the "grievous court ruling acquitting the murderer of an infant Russian citizen," Interfax reported.

State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov said he was "disturbed" by the verdict and that Russia should do everything in its power to make adoption a more attractive option for Russian families. "We need Russian children to stay in Russia," Gryzlov told Interfax.

The article also describes domestic adoption practices and policies.

The Harrison verdict is intimately linked to adoption.
Tonight NCFA tried out some damage control: National Council for adoption calls for calm and rational response to Harrison verdict. Acting NCFA president Chuck Johnson acknowledges that it may be difficult to "accept the verdict as appropriate and just,"

but

NCFA encourages a calm and rational response to the verdict, and hopes that the Russian government will continue to work with the United States government and the American adoption community to keep the adoption process between Russia and the United States transparent, safe and successful for the benefit of thousands of Russian-born children. Those who would suffer most from a disruption of Russian adoptions are the thousands of innocent orphans who otherwise would have been adopted into loving American homes.

In other words, things don't look too good! Don't call us; we'll call you!

BLOGGER ALERT: Johnson's statement included this most hilarious quotable NCFA quote since Dr. Pierce darkened its door:

Let me assure the international community that adoptive parents in the United States have the same responsibilities to their adopted children as do biological parents to their biological children.

Dima's death is about adoption, though Americans, too close to the issue, don't see it.
The acquittal is fast becoming a cause celebre. Since yesterday's verdict I've received hundreds of hits on both The Daily Bastardette and Nikko Ne Zabyt. Many of them from Russia (St. Petersburg, Moscow, Tula, Smolensk, Kazan, Krasnodar, Novosibirsk, Spasskova, Tyumen, Yekaterinburg,), Ukraine (Lviv, Kiev, Kharkov ,Krivoy Rog, Simferopol), Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Israel, Hungary, Denmark, and Slovenia. I've had over 200 hits from a Russian discussion group on Live Journal. My next project is to try to translate the discussion.


ADDENDA: December 21, 2008, 1:55 PM: I learned as per the comment below that the discussion group which I referred to is actually the blog of Russia's most famous science fiction writer Sergey Lukyanenko, and that he has been writing about the case. I hope this blog and the identical entries which appear on The Daily Bastardetete, have been helpful to him and his readers. I'm honored! Thanks.

RUSSIAN OFFICIALS WANT TO TOUGHEN ADOPTION RULES FOR US AFTER MILES HARRISON ACQUITTED IN DEATH OF DMITRY YAKOLEV

NOTE: For a complete listing of my entries on the Dmitry Yakolev/Chase Harrison case go to "labels" in the right sidebar and click on "Dmitry Yakolev" or "Chase Harrison." The same articles are archived in both. Also, for international readers, at the top of this page is a link to the Reverso translator.

I have seen no direct online confirmation from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, but according to reports from the English language editions of RIA Novistii and Interfax, the Russian government may toughen its adoption rules for the US in the wake of the acquittal of Miles Harrison. Harrison was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter yesterday in the death of Dmitry Yakolev, whom Harrison and his wife Carol were adopting. Last July, Dima died of heat-related injuries after being left strapped in his car seat for 9 hours in Harrison's SUV while Harrison worked. Harrison claimed he "forgot"to drop the boy off at daycare and "didn't know" he was in the car. How Harrison, "didn't know" Dima was in the SUV when he put him in the vehicle to take him to daycare is tricky legal semantics left for another discussion.

From RIA Novistii:

"We are outraged by the court ruling and believe it to be totally unjust and unacceptable," Alina Levitskaya (right) was quoted by the Education and Science Ministry as saying. "It questions the reliability of the U.S. system of protection of adopted children's rights, and will lead to tougher requirements for U.S. nationals in Russia."

Levitskaya said the ministry would demand that authorities in the United States step up monitoring of children adopted from Russia. She said the education ministry and the Russian Embassy in the United States would seek a guilty verdict for Harrison.

I have no idea what Levitskaya means in the last sentence. Harrison cannot be retried on charges of involuntary manslaughter. Lawyers reading this can clarify, but I believe that other charges, which should have been filed initially as lesser included charges with the involuntary manslaughter charge, could be filed now. For reasons I'll discuss in a later entry, I don't believe that will happen.

The Ministry of Education and Science so far remains silent on what these toughened requirements might be except for increased post-placement monitoring of Russian children and their adoptive families.

Toughening of any kind, post-placement or otherwise, will take place in a maelstrom of ugly protest, finangling, and pressure from adoption agency trade organizations such as the National Council for Adoption, the Joint Council, adoption lawyers and Quad A, adopters, potential adoptive parents (paps) , and the State Department. On the other side we'll get the same from Russian nationalists, child welfare advocates, various Russian ministries, and the Russian public at large who are seriously stirred up at the Harrison verdict. Change won't happen next week, but I can already hear the cry: "The Russians are holding my child hostage!"

In 2007, the US and Russia agreed to tougher post-placement requirements that mandate periodic checks on children placed in the US.

According to the US State Department:

AFTER ADOPTION

What does Russia require of the adoptive parents after the adoption?

Adopted Russian children must be registered with the Government of Russia either by registering with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) before they leave the country or by working with their adoption agency to register their adopted children with the G.O.R. when they return to the U.S. If registering prior to departing Russia. U.S. citizen families should do this after an adopted child has received an immigrant visa to the United States.

Russia requires periodic post-adoption placement reports on the welfare of the adopted orphan in his or her American family. The initial post-placement report is due six months after the court decision went into effect. The second report is due six months after the first report but no later than 12 months after the court decision. The third report is due at 24 months and the fourth at 36 months.

We strongly urge you to comply with the wish of Russia and complete all post-adoption requirements in a timely manner. Your adoption agency may be able to help you with this process. Your cooperation will contribute to that country’s history of positive experiences with American parents.

Clearly, there are no teeth in this requirement. The Russian government won't and can't re-take custody of children whose adopters refuse to comply with the rules--even when those rules are written into individual valid adoption contracts. US and state governments have no interest or legal right to disrupt adoptions over post-placement non-compliance.

The onus of compliance falls , then, on adoption agencies to squeeze their non-compliant clients to act in "the best interest of the child" which really means the best interest of the agencies and the best interests of the agencies' meal tickets, adopters and paps, who will be cut out if enough of XYZ Agency's clients tell the Russians to bugger off. The chances of an agency filing a civil claim over contractual non-compliance is nil. Of course, if the non-compliant have another bun in the agency oven, the agency can turn around and use its tried and true methods of threats and blackmail to go compliant. (see Beware BBAS for a rundown on those practices.)

Also important to know is that Russian follow-up procedures and records are in great disarray, so in the end not much of anybody actually knows what's going on.

John Towriss, Adoption Today Washington Bureau Chief, describes the non-compliance problem in his June/July 2007 Adoption Today article, American Attitudes Exposed.[pdf]

Adoption Today spoke with several groups in the adoption community from national umbrella organizations to adoption agencies to adoptive parents. While Americans can be so compassionate in adopting children, once they are home many speak of a change of attitude that reflect the American sense of freedom and individual rights. Several in the field suggested to Adoption Today that new laws in Russia have as much to do with the problem of post-placement reports as anything else.

One described it as "The arrogant American attitude that no government agency is going to tell me how to raise my children." Another put it even more bluntly, "Yes there will be no government agency that will come and take your child away for not filing a post-placement report, but you will be responsible for causing many other children to lose their chance of being adopted."

Yet another said, "It's almost a cavalier attitude, that I'm an American and no foreign country is going to tell me what to do.

Some time ago I heard rumblings that the Russian government was considering upping post-placement investigations until the child is 18. I like this idea and believe that Russia and other countries should mandate continuous post-placement in US placements. You can imagine the uproar on the US side if American children were being placed and killed in Russia. As long as the US adoption industry plays, it oughtta pay. But that will be a tough plane to fly.

While expanded post-placement investigations are a good idea, the Russian government first needs to take a closer look at US agencies working in their own country. The US State Department posts a list of all Hague accredited agencies on its Intercountry Adoption page, but the Russian Federation itself approves US agencies on that list to work within its borders. Some of the Hague accredited agencies on the State Department list are quite horrifying to those of us in the trenches. Also noteworthy, unlike most other Hague signatories whose rules and regulations are about ethical practice, "child's best interest," and identity rights, US regs [pdf] (go to Vol 71, No. 31, and type in "Hague") are mostly about who cuts up the fat accreditation money pie, how agencies can cover their ass, and Homeland Security confiscation of international adoptee records and identity. "Best interest" recommendations to reg writers by numerous agencies, organizations (including Bastard Nation) and individuals were ignored.

I'd like to see The Ministry of Education and Science and any other Russian ministry involved in adoption as well as US investigatory agencies re-investigate immediately, the money-grubbing Margaret Cole and her European Adoption Consultants, the agency that placed Dima with the Harrisons for, according to Carol Harrison, a whopping $70-$80,000. See my entries here (the most important), here and here for other EAC comments. EAC got off the hook after the Dima's death, but there's no reason it should stay off. (Note to Levitskaya: check greasy palms).

(For more on EAC click on "European Adoption Consultants" in the "labels' sidebar to the right.)

EAC also placed Logan Higanbotham (scroll down) who ended up dead when her forever mother Laura Hitganbotham "accidently" cracked open the baby's skull on a bedroom wall. Higanbotham did 1 year on involuntary manslaughter charges. She divorced, remarried, and now has a biological daughter. Another adopted Russian daughter continues to live with her.

The Yakolev/Harrison case is tragic. I want to make it clear that I do not put Dima's death in the same category as the cases of Russian adoptees who have been molested, tortured, and murdered by their forever families. Yet Dima, who died in part, because of the wacky American consumer lifestyle, deserves justice, which has not been served him. Privileged workaholic exburanites do not always good parents make, even with their open checkbooks. ( see No Justice for Dmitry for the justice discussion.)

I am pessimistic about dismantling much of the current adoption machine. Unfortunately, the right to someone else's child has become part of the American psyche. The first step in getting a modicum of justice for the adopted of any age and their families--especially those who have been egregiously harmed-- is to acknowledge that adoption practice in the US is driven by money, greed, and the commodification of children for profit. Certainly there are children in need of adoptive homes, but at what price to them and the rest of us? Only when and if that question wheedles its way into the American psyche might things begin to change.

MILES HARRISON ACQUITTED!

This just in.

This morning Miles Harrison was acquitted on charges of involuntary manslaughter in the death of his adopted 21 month old son Dmitry Yakolev/Chase Harrison. The baby died July 8 when he was left strapped in a car seat for 9 hours in 90+ degree heat while Harrison worked in his office just yards away.

From the Washington Post:

Miles Harrison, 49, collapsed to his knees moments after Fairfax Circuit Court Judge R. Terrence Ney declared that Harrison's conduct did not meet the legal standard for manslaughter. Ney noted that Harrison was, prior to July 8, an unquestionably devoted father to Chase Harrison, the 21-month-old Russian boy he and his wife had been adopted just three months earlier.

"The only true atonement here can only take place within his heart and soul," Ney said, "and he's very fortunate that he's been supported by such a strong and loving family, friends, co-workers and neighbors."

The standard under Virginia law for involuntary manslaughter is "negligence so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a callous disregard for human life." Ney concluded, "The court does not find beyond a reasonable doubt that the elements of involuntary manslaughter have been met. For this reason, the defendant is found not guilty."

Judge Ney added that "no prison term is going to cause more pain than that which he has already suffered."

Prosecutors like to pile on charges to at least get a conviction for something. I'm wondering why this prosecutor put all the eggs in the basket and didn't go for lesser included charges such as child endangerment. I'll go back and see if I have anything on file to indicate that other charges were filed, but I don't believe they were.

I still find it incomprehensible that Harrison "forgot" the baby was in his SUV. According to WaPo, prosecutor Katherine E. Stott said that Harrison had dropped off Dmitry/Chase at daycare several times the previous week, so the daycare stop was not a new experience. The day of the baby's death, besides stopping at the a dry cleaners on the way to work, Stott said that Harrison had also made 13 cell phones calls on his way to work with Dmitry/Chase in the car.

I will be adding comments to this entry as the day goes on, but I wanted to get it out now.

People have been convicted and sentenced to hard time for a lot less than this.

ADDENDA:

December 17, 2008, 1:52 PM: WJLA Noon News video, (right sidebar) including short interview with Harrison's sister.

December 17, 2008, 2:26 PM: Washington Fox News. Go to the "video" sidebar to the right bottom of the story. You may have to go through another story before you get to live report.

December 17, 2008: 2:32 PM: RIA Novisti (English language)

December 17, 2008, 2:41 PM: Here is a piece from National Public Radio on the current state of adoption in Russia both international and domestic. Excerpt: But while Russia remains a leading source for foreign adoptions, Russian authorities are no longer so willing to send their children out of the country. Only about 1,800 Russian children were adopted by Americans this year — down from a high of almost 6,000 in 2004.

December 17, 2008, 4:32 PM: This is an article from the Dec. 14 Washington Examiner which I didn't see until this afternoon. It describes some of the testimony that has not been covered in other media.

ANOTHER DMITRY YAKOLEV/CHASE HARRISON UPDATE: JUDGE REFUSES TO DISMISS CHARGES

Miles Harrison's motion to dismiss the charges against him was denied this morning.

From today's Washington Post:

But Fairfax Circuit Court Judge R. Terrence Ney noted this morning that Harrison had placed Chase in the vehicle and stopped at a dry cleaners on the way to work, and ruled that "the Commonwealth has met her burden of showing a prima facie case for involuntary manslaughter.

Baby Love Child has blogged on this aspect of the trial and commented on the WaPo article which expands the coverage from the initial article I posted last night. It also describes the defense's "strategy" to get Harrison off. Incredibly, Harrison has spent a bazillion dollars on upscale Peter Greenspun's defense argument that he's not guilty of neglect much less involuntary manslaughter, because none of his witnesses testified that Harrison knew the boy was in his SUV. Huh?

Rather than reinventing the wheel, I suggest you got over to BLC and read her comments and analysis, with which I agree.

Speaking of comments, a really offensive comment ( I hate that term, but I don't know what other way to describe it other than barmy) was posted this afternoon in the Post:

rpcv84 wrote:

I propose letting Harrison adopt again and seeing if his behavior becomes a pattern.

12/16/2008 2:26:12 PM

Outside of this being a facetious comment, which I doubt, I can only conclude that adoptees, especially from other countries, are expendable lab rats to be used in testing the competence of paps and adopters. If they don't continue to kill their kids, then they're free to keep them and adopt a few more.

I like to think nothing surprises me any more. Then rpcv comes along.

The Russian press has begun to report on the Harrison trial. I've had ,several hits from the Russian media and this article appeared in the Russian language Gazetta.

No updates from later in the day have have come across my screen yet. When they do, I'll post them.

ADDENDA: 11/16/2008 11:18: Here is a link to a WTTG-TV news video on today's court proceedings.

According to Carol Harrison's testimony the couple spent $70-$80,000 to adopt Dmitry! No mention in the news of what this all covered, but I'm flumoxed! $70-80,000? Did this all go to European Adoption Consultants?

DMITRY YAKOLEV/CHASE HARRISON UPDATE: MILES HARRISON STANDS TRIAL

BREAKING NEWS!

The trial of Miles Harrison, charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of his adopted Russian son, Dmitry Yakolev/Chase Harrison, 21 months, started today in Faixfax, Virginia. Harrison, in what I believe was a smart move for him, waived his right to a jury trial. His case is being heard from the bench. On July 8, Harrison, left the recently placed Dmitry, strapped in a car seat in his parked SUV at work for approximately 9 hours. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the 91 degree temperature outside means that the inside of the Yukon could have reached 180 degrees.

The defense scheduled 37 witnesses to testify to Harrison's character. Co-workers told the court he collapsed in the parking lot when Dmitry was discovered with the words, "I killed my son. I killed my son." Harrison did not take the stand, but wept throughout the day.

Information, which I have not seen earlier, came out during today's trial. Harrison, as some of us suspected, was not accustomed to taking Dmitry to daycare-- a job his wife Carol, an executive with Homeland Security, usually handled.

Then this astounding revelation: on the way to work, with Dmitry in tow, Harrison remembered to drop off clothes at the dry cleaners AND he remembered to grab his backpack with his work materials from the front seat of the car, just inches away from Dmitry! But he didn't remember Dmitry.

A representative from the Russian embassy is sitting in on the trial. No word on European Adoption Consultants, who disappeared Dmitry/Chase from its webpage months ago.

The judge is expected to come back with a verdict tomorrow morning.

At this posting, coverage from WJLA-TV, WDC, is the only substantial online news on the trial. Russia Today offers a very short piece. You can watch the WJLA news report on the trial at the station site above.

You can full find coverage of this case on this blog.

December 16, 2008, 11:54 AM: ADDENDA: Here is some clarification on yesterday's WJLA's report on the Miles Harrison trial, reported above. That report suggested that the judge would be rendering a verdict this morning, but maybe not.

Harrison's attorney moved for dismissal yesterday, which is what the judge is expected to rule on this morning.

The motion to dismiss the charge came at the end of the prosecution’s case. If Judge R. Terence Ney denies the motion, Harrison’s trial will continue. The case is being heard without a jury.