As you will, I am sure recall, back in April,OUSA had a pretty successful Blogger Blitz for Stephanie Bennett. It was great because over 100 bloggers took part, but kinda didn’t do what we needed as main steam media STILL is ignoring the travisty of justice being done to that poor Ohio family.

And it still continues.

In April of 2007, Stephanie had a hearing in the Probate Court, and awaited the findings of the court. The agency said that was the court that would be the correct court for the hearing, and the attorney that Stephanie had at the time didn’t fight it. That court has YET to rule.

In the meantime, the Bennetts hired a new attorney to represent them. The new attorney who was familiar with Adoption Law, as their previous attorney was not, said that since both Stephanie and Evelyn were minors, the court with jurisdiction would actually be the Juvenile Court.

On May 22, 2007 they appeared in Juvenile Court. Stephanie’s attorney came away from that hearing in very bad spirits, since it seemed that the Agency’s
attorney, who is also married to one of the sisters who run the agency, was very friendly with the judge.
The attorney left shortly after the hearing to go on vacation with her family, and was using her down time to plan the appeal that she was almost certain would follow on her return. She returned to her office from vacation and found the judge’s ruling and was very heartened to find that it seemed that the judge was strongly on the side of Stephanie, and indicated that she would a) allow the results of the polygraph examination that Stephanie was required to take in to the court, not as evidence but as testimony, and b) that Stephanie had been used badly by the system and she was sensitive to the loss she had experienced.

She ordered an Evidentiary Hearing be held forthwith, on the validity of the Mother’s consent. Which was good news.

And, they waited, through the rest of May, all of June, all of July and into August.
Stephanie’s attorney called and tried to set dates for the Evidentiary Hearing, but always something came up, another case, a vacation, a full docket, always something. But since the judge seemed to be understanding how Stephaine was coerced and raped of her own child, it was a patient paniced waiting.

Procedurally, the agency’s attorney should have filed an appeal if they were not happy with the judge’s ruling. That’s the way the law works.

Instead, they filed a motion for the judge to vacate her own order! Which if you think about it…is insane and makes no logical sense. If a judge rules. they really are NOT supposed to come back later and say..umm yeah, I changed my mind!

But guess what happened???
With no hearing, no in-chamber meeting, nothing. Just out of the blue, or over a cocktail with the agency’s attorney, or hitting balls on the golf course as one can imagine… the judge decided that she wasn’t the appropriate court, despite what she found in her ruling, and no one bothered to tell Stephanie’s Attorney!!!

So, they wait for the Probate Court ruling, which STILL has not been made, and it is now over 4 months ago!!

During the time that they waited, the police stepped in and did a DNA of the putative
father who voluntarily went into give it. They also agreed that the umbilical cord of
Evelyn’s would be okay for a sample of DNA. However, since it is the police that are
doing it, and it is for a criminal case, it takes longer than if it were paid for. So, it still hasn’t come back yet. It should be back very soon. In order to get the police interested, Stephanie had to undergo a polygraph which she passed with flying colors. The test was administered by the police department, but it was reviewed and analyzed by not one, but three separate experts who all were in agreement that Stephanie had told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

In the meantime, Judy Bennett, Stephanie’s mother, got word from a “reliable source”
that the Attorney General’s office is conducting an investigation of the agency, A Child’s Waiting. Judy called the AG’s office to find out if it is true, and was told that they could not give out information about current investigations, but that if it is so and the AG’s office is investigating, that not only will the agency lose its license, someone will go to jail. WHich ONLY seems fitting, but does NOT get back Eveyln.

The “People” who have Eveyln have left the state, and their whereabouts are unknown at this time. They know exactly what is going on, they know all the facts of the case, and yet, they still continue to keep this child, this precious infant, from her mother, and the family that loves her. There is still no adoption as of yet, but one can only guess that they are hiding out, at the agency’s directions, trying to do that “possession is 9/10ths of the law”..and IF anything ever goes on Stephanie’s favor, then they can pull the “We have been her only family for ….blanky blank years..waaaa!” card.

Stephanie, the mother, is left in a Hellish Limbo of Unknowing! She can’t talk about
anything, she can’t do anything, even go to visit her cousin in the event that a hearing will be held and she will get her baby back.
She is about to enter her Senior year in High School, a time when she should be worrying about her back-to-school wardrobe, planning her Prom, as an athlete, practicing her basketball moves, and checking out her possible college choices. Instead, she has been thru an ordeal that would, and HAS, broken many older, more sophisticated women. How long can this torture endure? How long can this teenage mother hold out against the machine that is eating her and her infant alive?

She has been abused by the father of her child ( which in case you missed it..is a 50 something year old man who sexually abused Stephanie for over 4 years until the pregnancy was a result!), by the system, by the agency, by the School Counselor, by the courts, and by the law that is supposed to protect her.

Someone surely should pay for this abuse! And it should not be the Bennetts!
Someone should be outraged at the continuation of this travesty and tragedy!! Someone
needs to stop it, now. SOmeone should care! I am counting on the bloggers. I hope that when you read this you will be as outraged and as furious as I was at the treatment that this young woman has received at the hands of the unscrupulous and unethical agency and courts.

UPDATE: Today I received the ruling of the judge in her amendment. This is insane.
And, the Bennett family has less than 2 weeks to raise the money to file the appeal or
Evelyn could be gone forever!
Donations can be made, via Paypal, at http://sendevelynhome.com/default.aspx

Now mind you..THIS is NOT the only case going on! It seems more and more I am getting sad desperate emails from new mothers who have been rooked by an agency or their own parents and then, even in their legal revoke periods, when they try to prove freud and duress, the judgements go against them!
Their is a young mother in California rilght now..she has a week left to revoke, if that, and cannot find legal help. I just got one the other day from Kansas:

Hi Claud,

I have a friend that is also in the middle of contesting her adoption in Kansas. Same basic story as me she was forced into signing the papers by the people surrounding her. She has already been to court and lost due to poor representation. She tried to appeal and the court denied her appeal because she did not turn the papers in on time. Again, this was due to her lawyer’s poor representation Do you have an contacts in Kansas that can help her. It’s getting close to the end as she was just denied her appeal today so now the finalization hearing will soon be coming. What if anything can she do now? Please forward this if you can to anyone you might know that can help. Thank you so much.

This sad plea was sent to my from Jonelle..who is fighting still for her own Baby. The sad story was covered in detail by Mirah Riben here.

So that’s two..in addition to the Bennetts. Then there is my friend Laura…another person who contacted me vai Email. She was pressured into signing by her parents, despite being college educated, good job etc. While she was actually able to get a ruling on her side…the last I heard from her she was still really waiting for her baby to be returned to her.

We had the Rashad Head case this year, where a dad was totally denied his child in adoption. Not to mention Allison Quets…so no final adoption, over 400K in legal fees, and she still cannot have her babies, so she sits in jail.

Meanwhile, we have tv shows that make the Gladney Adoption centers look like they are actually helping mothers…cough cough choke…and national administration proming adoption like it is the answer to abortion ..when it is two separate issues completely. And our American royalty, umm wait..make that Hollywood celebrities are adopting like it is this years Gucci handbag accessory.

Yes, there are chilcren in foster care that need homes..but these children, these infants that are WANTED by their mothers and fathers are being separated..again and again…due to really good public PR, uniformed and uncaring media, agenies that have the methodology of family separtaion down cold,and a court system that is heartless.

Apartently, once one even thinks about adoption, much less signs the papers..then no matter how much time you might legally have,…you just are worthless and unworthy of a parent just for even..what do they call it before you do it..”making a loving coragus choice for you child”.

I guess if you think about donating a kidney and someone does need it, then you MUST just becasue you think about it..right? The courts will make you give your kidney to someone who needs it more? Oh wait, no..thats not legal..unless it is adoption!!!

Maybe, maybe if I send this to a million different investigative news people..someone, someplace might care??

Where’s that box of hope and wishes??