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Days before his 13-year-old girlfriend gave birth to a daughter inOctober, then 17-year-old Blake Blythe doused himself in charcoal lighterfluid and lit a match, They were both foster children.



 
 
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Old August 7th 07, 07:18 AM posted to alt.support.child-protective-services,alt.support.foster-parents,alt.dads-rights.unmoderated,alt.parenting.spanking
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Default Days before his 13-year-old girlfriend gave birth to a daughter inOctober, then 17-year-old Blake Blythe doused himself in charcoal lighterfluid and lit a match, They were both foster children.

2 troubled young lives, a felony sex case

18-year-old could face life in prison over relationship with girl, 12,
who gave birth.

Tony Gonzalez / The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...=2007708060365


ECORSE -- Days before his 13-year-old girlfriend gave birth to a
daughter in October, then 17-year-old Blake Blythe doused himself in
charcoal lighter fluid and lit a match.

Flames seared around his T-shirt, leaving a V-shaped burn on his chest
-- a reminder of the suicide attempt.

"It's like every time he gets out of a hole, something reaches back up
out of that hole and pulls him down," Patrick Blythe Jr., 22, said about
his cousin, who was arrested in Mount Pleasant in May.

Now 18, Blythe is jailed on charges of first-degree criminal sexual
conduct stemming from the relationship -- charges that could imprison
him for life. It's the latest in a short, troubled life that family
members say could help explain the relationship, which started when the
girl was 12.

They were both foster children. He had bounced through at least a
half-dozen homes since 1998 and had a history of mental illness. She was
removed last year from a home infested with feces, rotten food and odors
so strong neighbors smelled them from the street, court files indicated.

Together, they may have produced a child in a relationship tolerated by
parents and opposed -- but not stopped -- by state case workers, court
and juvenile records show.

Prosecutors won't say if Blythe impregnated the girl -- whom The Detroit
News is not naming -- but her foster mother Gretchen Wilson, 35, of
River Rouge, said he tried to provide for the child and acted like a
father. Yet Wilson, and a woman who identified herself as Blythe's
godsister, Joleen Clay, 21, dispute the paternity and are pressing for
DNA tests.

"Everybody should be angry about the situation...but did anybody help?
No," Wilson said.

"I wanted to see them make something of themselves."

Michigan's foster care system cares for more than 18,000 children,
Department of Human Services data show. It's under fire for three foster
child deaths ruled homicides this year; some lawmakers have complained
about lax oversight and neglect. Court files indicate Blythe's state
foster care workers knew he was dating the 12-year-old in June 2006 and
warned him several times it was "not a good idea," but he insisted they
weren't having sex.

The girl was already pregnant, records show.

Mary Chaliman, manager of the foster care program office for the
Department of Human Services, would not talk about Blythe's case, citing
department policy. But she said state policy allows foster care workers
to decide whether to inform the police about suspected illegal acts.

"We depend on workers' judgment," Chaliman said.

Blythe's relatives decry the criminal charges, saying the girl insisted
she was older. Prosecutors say that's no excuse.

"It is alleged that he had sex with an underage female. We are charged
with prosecuting people who break the law, and in Michigan this is a
strict liability crime," said Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for Wayne
County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.

Blythe awaits a mental health examination, and his defense attorney,
Richard Glanda, said a plea agreement is possible before the start of
his trial in October.

The girl and her baby returned to the custody of the 13-year-old's
biological father -- after a six-year absence -- in late July.

A past of truancy, mental ills

Blythe's juvenile records show a history of truancy from Melvindale High
School; he was expelled in 2004. The records also show bouts of angry
threats and on-again, off-again attempts at therapy or medication to
control manic depression and schizophrenia.

A 1999 psychological report describes a 10-year-old Blythe as
overwhelmed with the responsibility of caring for his three siblings,
who struggled with lice infestations and an alcoholic, abusive
stepfather, according to a separate state report. "He is a little old
man," the report concludes.

The girl voiced claims of sexual abuse by her mother's boyfriends. A
2007 Wayne County Juvenile Court report said her mother -- whom the News
is not naming to protect her child -- downplayed the claims, saying if
it occurred, she wasn't at the Ecorse home.

"If you want to have sex, let me know. I'll get you birth control,
condoms, whatever," the mother told her 12-year-old daughter, according
to the report.

By the time state foster care workers took the girl from her home in May
2006, the girl's mother had confirmed her daughter's pregnancy with an
in-home test, but hadn't taken her to a doctor, a Third Judicial Circuit
Court petition showed.

A month later, Blythe returned to Ecorse under the care of his mother,
Melissie A. Maddox.

Maddox and the girl's mother were charged with contributing to the
delinquency of minors in May stemming from allegations that they allowed
the two to share a bed. The mothers were sentenced to one year probation
and ordered to stay away from minors without supervision.

An aunt's fears

Blythe ended his October suicide attempt by splashing into a small pool.
He ended up in Havenwyck Hospital in Auburn Hills for nearly a month. He
missed the birth of the girl, whom he later tried to care for by
purchasing diapers, wipes and outfits, the teenage girl's foster mother
said.

Blythe lived in Mount Pleasant for three months with his aunt Suzanne
Mullins, 39, until his May 4 arrest. Mullins housed Blythe but avoided
tough topics, like the relationship and child.

"He would sleep 12, 14 hours at least. He'd get up, he'd eat. That's
part of depression. I was told not to let him sleep so much, so I would
ask him to do things around the house," Mullins said.

"If he has to go to jail, I honestly don't think he'll make it." Wilson
said she struggled to raise the girl, her brother and the baby, along
with her own three children, without financial support from the girl's
biological mother.

She did not allow Blythe in her home but said the girl snuck him in for
visits. The relationship and birth left her angry, but love for the
"pretty, pretty little baby" kept her dedicated, she said.

She said she'll fight to prevent the 13-year-old girl's mother from
regaining custody, but relinquished guardianship to the girl's
biological father. He confirmed custody of the children. "We had our ups
and downs and now that's all past us," he said.

He said his daughter will be back in school come fall.

You can reach Tony Gonzalez at (313) 222-2062 or .




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...

 




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