Monday, April 19, 2010

The Weird World of Torry Hansen: An Accusation from Hayfork


The Daily Bastardette and Nikto Ne Zabyt
is probably the only place you will find this!

Our quick-witted commenter "blueheron" caught the following comment on the Redding Record/Redding.com article, Russian boy case linked to Redding and added it to my Weird World of Torry Hansen comments (on the Daily Bastardette site.)

I'm posting it here because I think the comment deserves wider distribution and shouldn't just set as a comment.--especially since it has been disappeared from it's original site newspaper site.

We can't judge the veracity of the writer, but it's an intriguing clue to the Hansen puzzle. From what we know of similar abuse cases involving the Forever Families of Russian adoptees, social isolation plays is a key marker.

blueheron wrote:
Here is a comment from the article about the Hansens in Redding and Hayfork. I can't vouch for the truth, but it is interesting. Any errors are in the original. Here's the link to the article/comments: http://www.redding.com/news/2010/apr/16/russian-boy-case-linked-to-redding/?partner=RSS

southforkmom writes:
The other part of this story has no one questioning the mother's role in this picture. The real story here is that Torry is the one with the strange, controlling upbringing. It is known in Hayfork that Erik and Nancy would enroll their children in public school and then pull them out to homeschool after some issue and would do this frequently. Another daughter got pregnant and the parents feigned the disapearance of the girl because they didn't like the boyfriend. The boyfriend filed a missing person's report with the sheriff's department and was very concerned with her whereabouts and safety. It was determined by the d.a.'s office that she actually wasn't a missing person. A child was born and that father still to this day hasn't had any contact with that child. I believe that Russian boy isn't the one with the problem here. The fact that Torry put that boy on a plane to RUSSIA! alone instead of getting help from the appropriate athorities says alot more about her character. Maybe he was just stuck in a horrible situation and that was his only way to retaliate.

Thanks blueheron!

There is much more to this story from the Hansen AND the adoption industry side. We're doing our part to make sure it gets told.

ADDENDA:
blueherron posted this additional comment from Redding.com on The Daily Bastardette.
I'm re-posting it here for wider distribution:

blueheron:
Well, just in case this one disappears, too, I'm posting it. The explanation of "gaming" public authorities is worth noting, I thought. From the comments in the same article, responding to SouthforkMom:

April 19, 2010
Poeschl writes:
Thanks to SouthforkMom's comment (April 17) regarding Torry Hansen's parents, their controlling upbringing of Torry and her sisters with repeated homeschooling, and especially Erik & Nancy Hansen's filing a false missing persons report with Hayfork law enforcement.

I also note Terra Kephart's comment (in the news article) that the Hansens were socially reclusive.

All this information is corroborated by the Hansen family's behavior in Tennessee (where they had moved from California) from 2006 onward, with the social reclusion of the entire family, the homeschooling, and their 'gaming' of public authorities by providing false information or by withholding necessary information.

The last trait, the 'gaming' of public authorities by withholding necessary information, is borne out by Torry & Nancy Hansen's returning Justin Hansen to Russia without giving prior notice either to the Russian government, or to the Washington State adoption agency that had arranged the adoption, or to the followup agency (Adoption Assistance Inc., of Danville, KY) that had contracted to monitor Torry Hansen's adoption.

It is not even clear that authorities in Bedford County, TN, where Torry & Nancy Hansen resided with Justin, had ever received formal notice from the Hansens that Torry Hansen had custody of a child. Thus no independent third party can verify Torry & Nancy Hansen's claims about Justin's threats and violence -- which is probably exactly what the Hansens intended.

It should also be noted that both Torry and Nancy Hansen did travel to Russia to meet Justin-Artyom and spend time with him before they decided to complete the adoption and take him back to the U.S. Also, the followup agency, Adoption Assistance, Inc., had previously educated Torry Hansen about the difficulties of Russian adoption and especially the difficulties encountered in caring for older institutionalized children and possible abnormal behavior. So, Torry and Nancy Hansen were not unprepared for Justin-Artyom and his allegedly difficult behavior.

The Russian government has already placed Justin-Artyom with a diplomatic family in Moscow who are well-informed about his history, are prepared to cope with his behavior, and plan to adopt him.

Note to Timbuk24U: Adoption is not like marriage. Marriage is between two consenting adults. Justin-Artyom is a child who did not consent be adopted by Torry Hansen. Also, once the adoption was finalized in November 2009, Justin-Artyom automatically became a U.S. citizen, and Torry Hansen lost the right to unilaterally terminate the adoption without the prior approval of an American court. Bedford County authorities will have to get a court order to unseal the adoption papers (which include whether the adoption was legally terminated). But if the adoption was not legally terminated, Torry Hansen could face charges of abandonment.


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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Could be these posts are legit or it could be there are written by pro-adoption or agency workers to cast the blame on the "terrible adoptive mother"
and take the focus off of the controversy surrounding international adoptions and the drop in available countries and prospective adoptive clients?
I smell a tinge of "damage control"

Marley Greiner said...

It sounds like small town talk to me.

blueheron said...

It could be the posts are damage control/attention draw, good point.

They ring pretty true,though. Knowing the area, knowing the different types of people who are drawn to the area, and matching that with their behavior in TN. I think as time goes on, we will hear more of the various versions of "the truth" and a mosaic will emerge.

Anonymous said...

If all that is truthful about Torry Hanson's home and family dynamics - why didn't the social worker note these issues in the home study report?

I think there are both sides to every story. But lets not give the adoption agency and social worker a free pass on this. They accepted her money, they approved her for the adoption, they ENABLED this process without conducting due diligence.

Anonymous said...

"They ring pretty true,though. Knowing the area, knowing the different types of people who are drawn to the area, and matching that with their behavior in TN. I think as time goes on, we will hear more of the various versions of "the truth" and a mosaic will emerge.

BlueHeron;
Ironically I noticed you were from Idaho? This area also draws some interesting people and behaviors:
Laura Silsby, and the 9 Baptists that were jailed in Haiti for attempting to drive 30 Haitian children into the Domincan Republic are Idaho.
Also there is a large compound of skin heads, white supremacists from Idaho.

It's best we hold our judgement until we have the complete story, and hopefully at some point Ms. Hanson herself will come forward with a statement of facts.

blueheron said...

I guess in my mind it's never been a question that the social workers and adoption agencies fail regularly with proper oversight of adoptions, and definitely failed in this case. I have noticed a lot of hind-quarter covering behaviors on their parts over this. I think Russia stopping the flow of children (and thus money) may help with this?

However, the ability of this family to have good face, present well, and say/do all the right things to alleviate suspicion probably played a role in this mess. Just my theory.

blueheron said...

Actually, Annonymous, I originally hail from the Hansen's area of California. I'm not speaking as an outsider there, but an insider. Sorry I didn't make that clear.

I found it ironic, and posted such to BD when the Hansen incident came out, that I was here in Idaho for the Baptist ten, and I lived for forty years an hour away from Hayfork. What are the odds?

Anonymous said...

The even stranger world of underground disrupt adoptions throughout the USA.
A post today of a recent offering of 2 children from Russia:


Three years ago, a family adopted a boy and his older sister. Immediately they felt that attachment was not going well for them or the children but they thought it would come in time if they just kept trying. Three months ago, they contacted me about disrupting but decided against it until they were 110% certain it was the right decision for the children. A few days ago they came to the realization that no matter how much they wanted to be, they are not the right family for their Russian born son and daughter. Here is what they wrote about them.

"Our son is 10 years old and in 4th grade. We are in process of obtaining an IEP from the school district, but up until now, the district has been very unsupportive of his needs. He has been diagnosed with ADHD, RAD and Anxiety disorders. He has a low verbal reasoning IQ (~73) and low average IQ (88-100) in other areas. He is socially immature. He has impaired judgment and does not seem to understand the cause and effect of his actions. We feel that he would thrive in a family that could take the time to teach him. His actions are causing significant stress on the rest of our family, and we do not feel that we are able to meet his needs. On the bright side, our son is always happy, never violent, or mean spirited. He does not hold grudges. He is compliant, and does chores without complaining, and likes to participate in family activities. He enjoys soccer, gymnastics, video games, roller skating, bicycling. He has a very curious personality and asks lots of questions. He grew up in orphanages and spent almost no time with any family members.

Our daughter is 12 and in 6th Grade. She is emotionally detached from us, particularly her mom. She was taken from her family's home, due to neglect, when she was just a little girl 5 years old. She goes in and out of happiness related to her family. She can seem like she is happy one minute and the next, she acts like she hates us. She seems to need a family who can devote a lot of time to showing her unconditional love. Having our two biological children in the house is difficult for her. She perceives them as always receiving more than she is getting (both material objects and love). It puts a strain on the interpersonal family relationships. We feel that the healthiest thing for her would be to be adopted along with her brother. She is an amazing artist! Some of her work looks almost professional. She does well in school (when she is self motivated), she has a large social circle and gets along with everyone. She is in Girl Scouts, Softball, soccer, cheerleading, takes piano. She would like to take art classes too. She likes to help with cooking. She enjoys music and likes to dance. Both kids love pets. "

If your heart has been stirred after reading this, please let me know. If you know of anyone who would be interested in adopting these two children please share this info with them. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Just a quick clarification, an adopted child does not automatically become an american citizen. An adopted child is automatically eligible to become an american citizen, still the citizenship will only be effective when all the paperwork and proper procedures are taken and followed.