Friend claims suspect in abuse case in PSL tried to make her an accomplice
 

Friend claims suspect in abuse case in PSL tried to make her an accomplice

By Derek Simmonsen (Contact)
Tuesday, August 7, 2007

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2007/aug/...case-tried-to/

Judith Leekin tried to get a friend to allow her to use her Social
Security number to adopt more children and encouraged her to take one of
them permanently, the former friend said Monday.

Leekin, 62, is charged with 10 felonies after being suspected of
adopting 11 children in New York and collecting up to $2 million for
their care, but abusing them instead. Circuit Judge Ben Bryan ruled
Monday the state Department of Children and Families can release records
related to a 1999 investigation it conducted into Leekin and the agency
also agreed to release its records on the current investigation once it
is completed, probably sometime in early September.


Additional court records obtained Monday reveal more information about
Leekin based on interviews her adopted children, her son and former
friends gave to police.

Harriet Kofsky, 62, of Port St. Lucie, told police she met Leekin at a
McDonald's restaurant several years ago, and as they became friends,
claimed Leekin later tried to get her to adopt children, too, telling
her the money was good enough she wouldn't have to work. Leekin even
tried to get Kofsky to take one of her children permanently, a request
she denied.

"I had no idea (the abuse) was to this extent," Kofsky said Monday.

Kofsky said she was at the house several times, but never saw many of
the children around. She knew Leekin was verbally abusive, but didn't
witness any physical abuse. Leekin told her she paid someone in New York
$1,000 to assist in the adoption of her kids, she said.

She finally broke off the friendship after becoming uncomfortable with
Leekin's request to use her name and Social Security number to adopt
more children. Investigators suspect she used multiple aliases in order
to skirt New York adoption rules.

"I told her no, I didn't want to get involved with that," Kofsky said.

One of the adopted children, who is now 20 but doesn't function as a
normal adult because of his lack of social interaction, described Leekin
as "evil." He had a scar on his right hand that came from being hit with
a can of evaporated milk after he wet himself while Leekin was away one
day, he said.

He also said she once burned the hand of an adopted child on a stove as
punishment for allowing another one of the children to accidentally get
burned. They were treated the same when they lived in New York, bound
with zip ties and handcuffs and made to sleep in the basement, he told
police. Leekin would withhold food from them if she was mad.

Claudette Jackson, who lived with Leekin for a few years in the late
1990s, told detectives she felt controlled by Leekin and said she was
good at getting people on her side, records show. Though she didn't see
any abuse, Jackson said she would hear Leekin screaming at children and
could hear her hitting them. Jackson's daughter described Leekin as
being like "the devil."

A circuit judge signed an order Friday seizing four of Leekin's bank
accounts and asked the bank to release more information on her to
investigators who are looking into fraud charges. Leekin's attorney, who
has filed not guilty pleas on her behalf, did not return calls for
comment Monday. Leekin also has declined an interview request.


CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA
WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING HUNDREDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...


BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...