Arkansas horror story: Republican lawmaker gave up adopted 6-year-old to man who then raped her
An Arkansas Republican state representative is facing serious scrutiny
after he apparently "rehomed" his adopted daughters to a household
where one of the girls, age 6, was raped by the father. Furthermore,
Rep. Justin Harris is accused of continuing to take state funds intended
for the girls' care even after his family had given them away.
Arkansas Times exposé
about Harris and the Christian pre-school he runs with his wife, a
school that employed the sexual predator who raped the 6-year-old girl.
When the Times asked Harris
why he handed over his adopted daughter to a sexual predator without
ever consulting state authorities or the foster care system, the
legislator quoted the Christian Bible's Book of Isaiah, saying, "No
weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue
that accuses you."
He then said,
"You don't know what we've been through this past year. You have no
idea what my family has been through. I don't care what the people of
Arkansas think about me. I don't care if I lose my position. I care what
my wife thinks about me, and I care what my three sons think about me."
The situation has reopened scrutiny of the Harris family's Christian
daycare center, Growing God's Kingdom Preschool. The pre-kindergarten
has run afoul
of authorities in the past for taking state and federal subsidies
intended for non-religious institutions. Now, as some in Arkansas are
pointing out, Harris is making headlines for trying to eliminate
government benefits to immigrants, benefits that his preschool heavily
relies on.
It appears, the Times said,
that Harris and his wife Marsha took in two little girls in September
of 2012. The girls were sisters and in foster care because a male
relative had sexually abused the older girl and left her traumatized.
The Harrises formally adopted the girls six months later in March,
2013. By October of 2013, something had gone seriously wrong in the
home. The Harrises - who had three older biological sons - handed off
the two girls to Eric and Stacey Francis, essentially abandoning them.
Court documents say that the older of the two girls was raped by Eric
Francis in January of 2014, when his wife was out of state. Francis
confessed to the sexual assault and is currently serving a 40-year
sentence.
The Francis family - who had three older adopted children - gave the
two girls up to a third family, and it was in that household that
Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) finally found the girls in
2014 and learned that Francis had sexually abused the older girl.
Francis was a teacher for a time at Growing God's Kingdom, but was
fired, Harris claims, for excessive work absences. The girls were in
Francis' custody at the time, and it is apparent that Harris left the
girls with Francis even after he fired him.
The practice of "rehoming" adopted children is not expressly illegal
in Arkansas. There is no specific law against the practice, and the Times uncovered nine instances of the practice in the last two years.
Earlier this year, Times columnist Max Brantley tore into Harris as a "small government" hypocrite whose family business, the preschool, depends almost entirely on government subsidy money
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/arkansas-horror-story-republican-lawmaker-gave-up-adopted-6-year-old-to-man-who-then-raped-her/
An Arkansas Republican state representative is facing serious scrutiny
after he apparently "rehomed" his adopted daughters to a household
where one of the girls, age 6, was raped by the father. Furthermore,
Rep. Justin Harris is accused of continuing to take state funds intended
for the girls' care even after his family had given them away.
Arkansas Times exposé
about Harris and the Christian pre-school he runs with his wife, a
school that employed the sexual predator who raped the 6-year-old girl.
When the Times asked Harris
why he handed over his adopted daughter to a sexual predator without
ever consulting state authorities or the foster care system, the
legislator quoted the Christian Bible's Book of Isaiah, saying, "No
weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue
that accuses you."
He then said,
"You don't know what we've been through this past year. You have no
idea what my family has been through. I don't care what the people of
Arkansas think about me. I don't care if I lose my position. I care what
my wife thinks about me, and I care what my three sons think about me."
The situation has reopened scrutiny of the Harris family's Christian
daycare center, Growing God's Kingdom Preschool. The pre-kindergarten
has run afoul
of authorities in the past for taking state and federal subsidies
intended for non-religious institutions. Now, as some in Arkansas are
pointing out, Harris is making headlines for trying to eliminate
government benefits to immigrants, benefits that his preschool heavily
relies on.
It appears, the Times said,
that Harris and his wife Marsha took in two little girls in September
of 2012. The girls were sisters and in foster care because a male
relative had sexually abused the older girl and left her traumatized.
The Harrises formally adopted the girls six months later in March,
2013. By October of 2013, something had gone seriously wrong in the
home. The Harrises - who had three older biological sons - handed off
the two girls to Eric and Stacey Francis, essentially abandoning them.
Court documents say that the older of the two girls was raped by Eric
Francis in January of 2014, when his wife was out of state. Francis
confessed to the sexual assault and is currently serving a 40-year
sentence.
The Francis family - who had three older adopted children - gave the
two girls up to a third family, and it was in that household that
Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) finally found the girls in
2014 and learned that Francis had sexually abused the older girl.
Francis was a teacher for a time at Growing God's Kingdom, but was
fired, Harris claims, for excessive work absences. The girls were in
Francis' custody at the time, and it is apparent that Harris left the
girls with Francis even after he fired him.
The practice of "rehoming" adopted children is not expressly illegal
in Arkansas. There is no specific law against the practice, and the Times uncovered nine instances of the practice in the last two years.
Earlier this year, Times columnist Max Brantley tore into Harris as a "small government" hypocrite whose family business, the preschool, depends almost entirely on government subsidy money
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/arkansas-horror-story-republican-lawmaker-gave-up-adopted-6-year-old-to-man-who-then-raped-her/
