The former DHS employee confirmed this account. Since 2009 . 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. So one day in late 2011, a few months after they were first introduced, Young met with the Harrises. Join the fight for truth and become a subscriber of the Arkansas Times. They said the whole time in court they wanted all three, and thats why they were chosen [to adopt] They fell on their knees when they were told they could take her., As for the transfer itself, Craig Hart said, It was not the process normally followed when we had kids go into an adoption situation the court said there should be a transitioning period between us and them, and we saw them only once after they moved in [with the Harrises]. Republican Justin Harris, who gave away his two adopted daughters, aged three and five, to a man who later sexually abused one of them, is facing calls to resign State representative Justin. It was later discovered that Eric Francis had sexually abused the middle child during the time she spent in his home. View Justin Harris results in Kentucky (KY) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Supporting the Arkansas Times' independent journalism is more vital than ever. Their biological mother, who had a history of drug abuse and had lived with a string of abusive men, was deemed unfit to care for them. See Photos. Their attorneys pulled up all the paperwork for me. Francis lost his job at the school while in custody of the girls due to performance issues, but Rep. Harris and his wife did not take the girls back at that point. They married four months later. As part of his attempt to justify his actions, Harris has claimed the young girls, and their eight-year-old sister whom he also took in but did not formally adopt, were threatening to kill his family. Harris said the girls suffered from reactive attachment disorder, which led them to have social and emotional problems and become violent, according to the Times. 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 She said she was originally introduced to the Harrises by a former friend. Speaking anonymously, she expressed frustration with both adoptive parents and DHS. "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. Period. (Other sources claim Young waited for days to turn the husband over to the police.) Boy who killed his father's pregnant fiancee when he was 11 Arkansas Democratic Party Chair Vince Insalaco's Statement Regarding Republican Rep. 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Justin Harris releases statement about 'rehoming' d - KATV - Breaking News, Weather and Razorback Sports, A child left unprotected | Cover Stories | Arkansas news, politics, opinion, restaurants, music, movies and art, 'Re-homed' by legislator, girl, 6, sexually assaulted. They initially took in the third. Representative Justin Harris, pictured last month, gave his two adopted daughters to a friend after they threatened his family with violence, he said. She didnt have boundaries, Cheryl Hart recalled. "She was cute. They said she exerted pressure on people in the local DHS team on Harris behalf. Cheryl and Craig Hart were opposed to the Harris adoption from the beginning. Accordingthe Arkansas Times,people who knew the family, including a former babysitter, say that the Harrises kept the 4-year-old locked in a room and monitored her with cameras because they believed she was possessed by demons. It was the only chance I had to keep my girls together. 2009. The girls remained with the Francises until February or March of 2014 a month or two after Francis stopped working at the Harrises daycare. As a dad, it was fight or flight, Harris toldKTHV in an interview. Justin Harris told "20/20" the reason there was such objection to the adoption was "because [others] felt like we were a fanatical couple. In most cases, custody of an adopted child can be transferred simply by both sets of parents signing a document, and child protective services will only step in if they suspect the child is not being properly treated, which can be near impossible for them to judge at times. Yet their lives quickly began to unravel. But what of Jeannette, the oldest daughter and the first to be taken in by the Harrises, who the lawmaker said sometimes spent about eight hours every day screaming and in a rage and threatened violence upon his sons? I don't care what the people of Arkansas think about me. 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.. In reality, when they are doing it in these illegal ways, whatit is is child abandonment and neglect, Lestino said. Marsha was showing me these really beautiful pictures of these rooms that they had supposedly set up for the girls, Young recalled. 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? Harris publicly announced on social media that the adoption had been finalized on March 6, 2013. Arkansas House Speaker Jeremy Gillam meanwhile said that Rep. Harris will face no repercussions for rehoming the two young girls. They have to learn skills most parents dont have such as how to talk a child down. Therapists need to become involved. I don't care what the people of Arkansas think about me. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Justin Harris and could vary in the range between $556.5K - $1.6M. 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. Among them: two foster families who cared for the girls prior to the Harris adoption, the girls biological mother, a former DHS employee familiar with the proceedings and a former babysitter at the Harrises West Fork home. 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. The comments below have been moderated in advance. But recently,Wisconsin, Colorado, Florida and Louisiana havepassed laws addressing the practice. Justin Harris told 20/20, "We are Southern Baptist. He said DHS threat to charge him with abandonment could have cost him custody of his three biological sons (and, though he did not say so, could have cost him his business as well, Growing Gods Kingdom preschool). And so Harris chose to take matters in his own hands near the end of 2013. Cameron sexually abused the girl. So it came as a great shock to Wallis when Marsha Harris called her, nearly a year later, for dinner. Despite what you may have read, we reached out to DHS numerous times and were met with nothing but hostility. He grew emotional describing his dilemma: We were threatened with possible abandonment charges and potentially losing our own boys as well if we returned the girls to DHS custody. 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. 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. More shocking still: WhatHarris did, unofficially giving away an adopted child, is not illegal in Arkansas. Chelsey Goldsborough was a high school senior when she started babysitting for the Harrises' two remaining adopted daughters in spring of 2013. Goldsborough said she would watch Mary on a monitor linked to a camera in her room, but usually only entered the room to provide food or water. A lawyer for the Harrises, Jennifer Wells, denied to the Arkansas Times that exorcisms and telepathy are part of the couples beliefs. Harris, however, has been engulfed in scandal this week - as it only just emerged that he had legally adopted the girls - a fact he neglected to mention when publicly commenting on the rape when it first came to light. Wallis stayed on the case as the girls were transitioned into the Harris home. They followed the techniques in a book called When Love Is Not Enough, a Parents Guide to Reactive Attachment Disorderby Nancy Thomas, who is a recognizedexpert on therapeutic parenting techniques.. Hutchinson and Speaker Gillam will agree that Harris's resignation is necessary. Now, Im really good with kids with sexual trauma. So she called us out of the blue, the mom, and said Will you take my three girls? Primary Menu. Im a Christian, and I have these beliefs, but this was completely beyond anything Ive ever seen or heard about., Goldsborough said the reason the family removed Marys toys was because a demon told [Mary] not to share. Arkansas State Rep. Justin Harris and his wife held a press conference to address the fallout related to his adoption of three young girls. She called Justin and Marsha Harris to take her daughters. Skilled in Negotiation, Sales, Store Management, Communication, Business Development and Sales Prospecting. On March 24, three weeks after the news first broke that state Rep. Justin Harris (R-West Fork) and his wife, Marsha, gave their two adopted daughters in 2013 to a family where one of them was later sexually assaulted, Rep. Harris returned to Twitter. Thats why we have supervisors and area managers because you want as many eyes as you can to help make sure we make the best, most appropriate decisions for those kids. They genuinely had a commitment, I think, but it wasnt near as easy as they thought that it was going to be. The three sisters taken in by Justin and Marsha Harris had already lived with atoxic mixture of neglect and abuse. 00:00. They thrived in our home, Cheryl Hart said. In November, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Its odd, because theyre not bad with children, said Goldsborough, relating how the Harrises had her watch educational videos about child development before she baby sat. We care deeply for the girls but we were failed by DHS, Harris said at his press conference. We couldnt ever take [Mary] out. We decided to adopt two girls. Justin Harris. Menu Log In Sign Up They argued they were more than capable of raising these young girls. Arkansas State Rep Justin Harris and his wife Marsha adopted two girls in 2013, but eventually gave them up when the elder child became violent and threatening View gallery The Harris family. 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. They were very delightful, fun, energetic never an ounce of threat from them. "To give your children away, whether they're your biological children or adoptedI never thought that would be legal anywhere," Wallis told 20/20. ), 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. 'There are also other issues that need to be raised here. The ex-wife of a Georgia dad on . But the girls foster parents said they didnt experience those kinds of issues with the girls. We checked on them, took them to the doctor.. 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. Justin Harris and his wife have three biological sons and were adopting for the first time with the two girls. Select this result to view Justin Harris's phone number, address, and more. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. On Wednesday, Arkansas Rep. Greg Leding introduced a bill to prevent rehoming. Jan Wallis, a former adoption specialist with DHS, knew the two younger sisters. "We met a bunch of different families, and we found the parents we absolutely loved," Justin, who came out as gay to his family before his junior . Gradually, the foster mother said, this troubled girls behavior began to change. Response: 'I don't care what the people of Arkansas think about me. Resides in Ottawa, KS. Lived In Chanute KS, Humboldt IA, Independence KS. 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 story of an Arkansas politician who gave away his adopted child, and the tragedy that followed, So far, Trumps rollback of regulations cant be blamed for Ohio train wreck, The Buttigieg-Rubio grudge match over rail safety, Lawmakers cite fishy poll to suggest laptop tale would have swayed vote, A series of stories by the Arkansas Times, vociferous defender of his Christian faith, prominent figurein the states Republican Party. That family could not be reached by the Times. The chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas, Vince Insalaco, released a statement earlier this week: "As a parent and grandparent, I am shocked to learn of Rep. Justin Harris's egregious action of abandoning two girls he adopted through DHS and placing them directly into harm's way. The babysitter also alleged the Harrises would keep the younger sisters separated because they could supposedly telepathically speak to one another. Then, you have an elected leader who represents an antigovernment agenda; yet, he makes his living off of government funding. 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. To both Young and the Harrises, it must have seemed like providence. The neighbor kids liked her. Our monthly magazine is free at over 500 locations in Central Arkansas. They were not allowed to be around each other because of the Harrises belief in demonic possession and telepathy, she said. The girls' new adopted mother, who asked not to be named, told 20/20, "I want people to know who they really are, 'cause who they really are is fun and sweet and sensitive and strong. The two youngest girls were taken into the Harts foster home. 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