Arkansas House Speaker Jeremy Gillam meanwhile said that Rep. Harris will face no repercussions for rehoming the two young girls. 'At this time, that situation, as far as we're concerned from the House perspective, is past tense, and we're moving forward and looking at the remainder of our calendar and finishing the month strong,' Gillam said. They consider it to be spiritual warfare, the other source said. 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. Wallis left DHS in fall 2012. 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. In fact, a past DHS employee at the time came to us and confirmed that the plan at DHS was to seek abandonment charges if we returned the girls.". As a legislator, Harris knew Blucker personally and has some influence over her budget. Justin Harris is our managing director and the owner of Harris Residential. 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. I had a big dog outside, and I caught her trying to stick a stick up the dogs nose. About Justin Harris. 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. Harris, who has three biological sons, said the eldest girl, who was eight, said she would 'kill everyone in the family'. That is why, in 2011, Young approached the Harrises and asked them to adopt her daughters, then in foster care. While the Harts did not have the older sister in their home, they had been in touch with girl's then-foster parents and knew she was a troubled child. They think they are the fairy godmother and their charity is to save themselves a Cinderella.. But this kid was so sexualized, Id never seen anything like it, the therapeutic foster mother said. A lawyer for the Harrises, Jennifer Wells, denied to the Arkansas Times that exorcisms and telepathy are part of the couples beliefs. Though no one can say for sure, child advocates believe that rehoming is relatively rare in the United States. Male adoptee born on Aug 17, 1982 in Orlando, Florida Adoption record added Today at 12:55pm Female adoptee born on Jan 3, 1983 in Yakima, Washington Adoption record added Today at 9:41am Male adoptee born on Jan 1988 in Tulsa, Oklahoma Adoption record added Today at 9:31am I turned them over to these people, Young said. 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 . 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.] 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. Arkansas State Rep. Justin Harris and his wife held a press conference to address the fallout related to his adoption of three young girls. But even that can be treated.. Friday afternoon, Rep. Justin Harris and his wife Marsha held a press conference at the state Capitol to address the revelations in this week's Arkansas Times cover story about their failed adoption, which ended in the "rehoming" of two girls in a household where one of them was sexually abused.As Max Brantley wrote yesterday, it was an emotional statement. Justin is related to Janon L White . Justin Ross Harris: Wiki, Biography, Wife, Age, Kids, Net worth, Parents, Family, Case & More. Cheryl and Craig Hart were opposed to the Harris adoption from the beginning. This couple, the girls fourth set of parents in two and a half years, has now legally adopted them. I figured this was my winning battle. The couple, whom the Harrises had known since Marsha and Stacey had been classmates, and the couple seemed like the perfect fit. Unless he gave them guns, they werent dangerous., He felt especially offended at Harris statement in the press conference thatthey had to medicate the middle child to prevent her from hurting her sister. He said Mary displayed only affection and kindness toward her younger sister. It was during that interview that police learned the 6-year-old had been the victim of sexual abuse. It really repulses us what he said. Chelsey Goldsborough, who regularly babysat for the Harrises, said Mary was kept isolated from Annie and from the rest of the family. 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. -- an often misunderstood psychological condition that can develop when a child's basic needs for comfort and affection are not met. 2009. "There was a group coming in from Alabama that was supposed to pray over the children and get the demons out as an exorcism," according to Goldsborough. See Photos. Tweet. Those adoptive parents who do it, advocates say, are gambling with the well-being of at-risk children whose entire life experienceshave been characterized by abandonment, separation, grief and often abuse. Everyone testifying before the judge had stipulations, like To be followed up, To continue their therapy at Childrens House, but nobody would say, We really dont think this is a good idea. The Harts believe Bluckers influence made the adoption happen. The two younger sisters have been adopted and are thriving and flourishing in their new home. Id be pretty pissed off, too.. They repeatedly told us they had degrees in early childhood development, they had therapists there at their preschool, and they had God to help them through this. Luke Solomon. Francis is now serving 40 years in prison for his crimes against the six-year-old. We are aware of the very public conversation going on about events pertaining to our daughters, they said in an email to the Times. Chilling 911 dispatch describes how 'overmedicated' midwife mom Lindsay Clancy cut her own wrists before jumping from top window of her home in suicide attempt after strangling her three children, Biden STILL refuses to accept responsibility for classified documents debacle: President says 'the answer is no' when asked if takes blame for sensitive files found at multiple properties, Inside Jim Carrey's secret 'sanctuary': Comedian lists LA estate of 30 YEARS (complete with infrared sauna and tennis court) for a whopping $28.9M after announcing plan to retire from acting at 61, World-first pill for postpartum depression could be rolled out in US by AUGUST, High blood pressure? She stated that Francis had raped her genital area to help her go to sleep, a claim he did not deny. A series of stories by the Arkansas Times revealedthat Harris a day-care owner, a vociferous defender of his Christian faith and a prominent figurein the states Republican Party put two young girls he adopted in the care of a man who later sexually abused one of them. The Harrises are devout Southern Baptists. Follow. Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. How exactly things could go so wrong for the girlsonce they were placed in the care of the Harris family is a study in failure at all levels. He also offered another explanation in an interview with Arkansas Onlinesaying: 'When our adoption became final, we went to the court, the whole family, exchanged teddy bears and everything - and it was like a light bulb suddenly flipped on for the girls. | Learn more about Justin Harris's work experience, education, connections & more by visiting their . I care what my wife thinks about me, and I care what my three sons think about me,' said Rep. Harris, Rapist: Francis pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault in the second degree. I knew [Jeannette] wouldnt last five minutes there., But Justin Harris now says he and Marsha were pressured to take Jeannette against their wishes. And I just said, 'God, I can't do it anymore.' or. Harris also placed some of the blame on officials in the Arkansas Department of Human Services, whom he said misled them as to the abuse suffered by the girls. Those depictions, Ostrov says, would be a tremendous lure.. The source close to the Harrises said the pet a guinea pig belonging to one of the boys was killed not by Mary, but by the oldest sister, Jeannette, who had long since left the home by the time the Harrises, allegedly on the advice of therapists, rehomed the girls with the Francises. Children with RAD may be successfully treated, especially if reached at an early age and placed in a stable, loving home, Jensen said. 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! In fact, a past DHS employee at the time came to us and confirmed that the plan at DHS was to seek abandonment charges if we returned the girls.. Justin Harris also reached out to the Hart family who was fostering the two youngest sisters at the time. Marsha was showing me these really beautiful pictures of these rooms that they had supposedly set up for the girls, Young recalled. Justin Todd Harris(born August 25, 1975)[1]is the owner and operator of Growing Gods Kingdom, a preschool in West Fork in Washington County in northwestern Arkansas. Cecile Blucker knew where the kids were. Supporting the Arkansas Times' independent journalism is more vital than ever. "She was cute. And there were no tears. But things quickly took a turn for the worse as the middle child, also diagnosed with RAD, began to act out despite regular therapy sessions, the Harrises said. Id watch her from a camera. While Annie would be allowed to roam the house and interact with other family members, Mary was often confined to her room, Goldsborough said. (Count 1: Malice Murder. The separate source close to the Harrises reported seeing a video that Marsha Harris said showed a demon interacting with one of the girls. Because Im about ready to lose them to DHS. . After initiating a private adoption, we were informed in a meeting with DHS, CASA, the attorney ad litem, and Ozark Guidance that we could not adopt the two children unless we also took their older sibling., Harris contradicted himself in the KARK interview later that same evening, stating that Sarah Young asked him, Will you take my three girls? and we said, Yes, we will take your three girls. . 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. The middle girl came maybe two months later she had a potential adoptive family that for some reason changed their minds very suddenly and said she had to be out right away, so we took her, too.. He said one of the girls the implication was the middle sister had to be medicated to stop hurting her sister, and that he was advised by therapists to treat her RAD by removing toys and other belongings from her room. There is no question, however, that it became a perfect nightmare. We checked on them, took them to the doctor.. When news of the rape came out in April 2014 and Harris was questioned about his former employee, he told the Times hed fired Francis for a poor work record. Therapeutic foster parents are trained to deal with the intense demands of traumatized children and nudge them toward healing and bonding with intentional, careful steps. We had decided to add on to our house in order to expand the family, and we couldnt have any more children, so at that point we had decided we were going to adopt. 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. The sisters were supposed to be moving out of neglect and chaos and into the stability of their forever home. Over the years, the Harts have opened their home to close to 70 foster children. She didnt have boundaries, Cheryl Hart recalled. Harris spoke for the first time of a third, older sister that he said DHS made him adopt before he could take the younger sisters into his home. They came in to one of the church lunches and had me go to the bank with them to have it notarized and all that stuff to take it back to their lawyer. She said she was originally introduced to the Harrises by a former friend. To at least keep them together, instead of DHS taking my rights, said Sarah Young, the biological mother of the three sisters, in an interview with the Times. At the hearing, the ad litem attorney you know, the one who is representing only the interests of the children said, When we met less than a couple of days ago, everyones recommendation was for these kids to not go to this home. 00:00. Harris face was getting all red, Cheryl Hart added. "To give your children away, whether they're your biological children or adoptedI never thought that would be legal anywhere," Wallis told 20/20. The extralegal practice is highly controversial a monstrous act, according to adoption advocate John M. Simmons. When they began living with the Harrises in 2012, Jeannette was around 6, Mary was 4 and Annie was around 2. Now imagine that happening three different times. She called Justin and Marsha Harris to take her daughters. On Tuesday, shortly before this story went to print, Harris sharpened his accusations, telling KTHV-TV, Channel 11, that Blucker the states top official for child welfare knew he gave the girls to another family and did not report it. The girls had regular counseling at Childrens House in Springdale, a center specializing in mental health treatment for young victims of abuse. The girls were at one point placed in the care of methamphetamine users,according to the Times. We kept a loving Christian home for them to be a part of it. The Harrises sent Mary and Annie to live with the Francises in October 2013, just a year after they had taken them into custody. The babysitter also alleged the Harrises would keep the younger sisters separated because they could supposedly telepathically speak to one another. Justin Ross Harris: Hot Car Baby Death Law&Crime Network 4.35M subscribers Try it free Subscribe 4.5K 267K views 1 year ago #PrimeCrime #JesseWeber Justin Ross Harris: Hot Car Baby Death. Sign Up. The mother in that household, who asked that her name not be used in this story, still refers to the girl as my daughter and describes her as simultaneously one of the most disturbing casualties of sexual abuse shes ever encountered and a remarkable, resilient child who she grew to love as deeply as her own biological son. By Benjamin Hardy . Imperial Court of Buffalo, +6 more Alfred State. Asked about the death of the guinea pig, Wells, the Harrises lawyer, said via email, A family pet, which was a guinea pig, was crushed to death by one of the children. When a child has repeated changes of caregivers, that child is learning that the world is not to be trusted and there is no one there for me at a critical time, and I might be bounced out at any moment, he said. The scrutiny-free practice of rehoming opens the door to children becoming victims once again. We've done everything.". 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