Although the Francises also already had three children, just as the Harrises did, if Justin Harris worried that the girls might harm the Francises . Responding to the Arkansas Times report that uncovered Harris rehoming of his children, the state legislator said he was failed by the Department of Human Services when he told employees the girls were too difficult for the family to handle. ABC News "20/20" has declined to name the biological mother and the three girls out of respect for their privacy. In October 2013, Justin Harris dropped off his two young daughters to begin their new life with the Francises. Those adoptive parents who do it, advocates say, are gambling with the well-being of at-risk children whose entire life experienceshave been characterized by abandonment, separation, grief and often abuse. They played with my adopted son in my home.. See Photos. So in early 2011. when a mother of three reached out to the devout couple about adopting her three young daughters who were about to be permanently taken away by DHS, the family decided they wanted to make these siblings members of their family. Justin Harris, a Republican who sits in the state's House of Representatives, legally adopted the two girls in March 2013 - but handed them over after just six months to a man who would go on to rape the eldest. This article was published more than7 years ago. It was later discovered that Eric Francis had sexually abused the middle child during the time she spent in his home. West Fork, Arkansas, is represented in state government by Republican Rep. Justin Harris. Justin Harris suggested he used his influence to obtain the three girls during the adoption hearing, according to Cheryl Hart. We offered to be respite for them, to give them relief, to help out any way that we could because wed been living with [Mary and Annie] for a year and a half. And the ad litem asked him, Did you make calls?And he finally said, I did what I had to do to get these girls. I expected the judge would [stop the adoption] but she gave them the oldest girl. The younger two sisters soon followed. He presented himself and his family . The comments below have been moderated in advance. The source said demons were an obsession with Marsha Harris. It is her opinion the Harrises called Cecile Blucker to expedite things.. Our daughters are a precious gift from God and truly a blessing to each one of our lives and our extended family and friends. They were not allowed to be around each other because of the Harrises belief in demonic possession and telepathy, she said. The story first . This story of Arkansas state legislator Justin Harris' adoption debacle has been a classic, slow-moving trainwreck, as the Arkansas press discovers disturbing new details on a near-daily basis. The Arkansas Timesrevealed the link between Harris and the rape victim in an expos this week, after learning that he had adopted the girls from prosecutor documents used in Francis' trial. As a dad, it was fight or flight, Harris toldKTHV in an interview. (Other sources claim Young waited for days to turn the husband over to the police.) Gradually, the foster mother said, this troubled girls behavior began to change. Lived In Chanute KS, Humboldt IA, Independence KS. Now its safe for them to show all the disturbance that has been hidden, Jensen said. When asked if Blucker had prior knowledge of the rehoming, Webb, the DHS spokesperson, said the agency could not comment due to the confidentiality of adoption cases. Farm Heroes Saga, the #4 Game on iTunes. The extralegal practice is highly controversial a monstrous act, according to adoption advocate John M. Simmons. They followed the techniques in a book called 'When Love Is Not Enough: A Parent's Guide to Reactive Attachment Disorder,' by Nancy Thomas, who is a recognized expert on therapeutic parenting techniques, said Jennifer Wells, the couples attorney. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Justin Harris and could vary in the range between $556.5K - $1.6M. We choose to forgive the Harrises and hope they will truly follow Christ in humility and repentance for the mistakes they made in our daughters lives. State Rep. Justin Harris claimed that the state Department of Human Services (DHS) threatened to charge him with child abandonment and take away his biological children, according to a report Thursday in the Arkansas Times. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. Rancher, 73, is charged with murder on his Arizona land after shooting dead Mexican, 48, who had history of illegal crossings into US and multiple deportations: Judge refuses to reduce $1M bail despite plea his wife is alone, Getting his Minnie's worth! Speaking anonymously, she expressed frustration with both adoptive parents and DHS. And in court, Cheryl Hart recalled, something strange happened: Everyone on the DHS team that had previously opposed the adoption changed their recommendations. It is known as rehoming, a name that describes a practice more common in pet adoption. 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. He said at the Friday press conference that they wanted only to adopt the younger sisters but were forced to accept the eldest as part of a package deal: Marsha and I always planned to have five children. Gods going to solve this. There are lots of children you could adopt you dont need to take the most traumatized ones out of the system. Later that year, the couple contacted DHS about their intentions. This action directly lead to the rape of the six-year-old girl who Rep. Harris is responsible for and even received government funding to care for through the foster care system. Many of the online posts say the unwanted children have physical or mental disabilities. 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. Harris face was getting all red, Cheryl Hart added. Together, we can continue to hold the powerful accountable and bring important stories to light. We got the little one first; Im pretty sure it was the first weekend of March 2011, Cheryl Hart said. Since 2009 . Posts about Justin Harris written by HA Editorial Team. When DHS collected the children, the eldest was 5, the middle girl was 3 and the youngest was under a year old. Discover short videos related to justin harris on TikTok. They are both extremely protective toward each other and love each other with all their hearts. After Fridays press conference, Justin Harris gave a lengthy interview to a KARK-TV, Channel 4, reporter in which he told a similar story about how his troubled adoption began. Justin Ross Harris, who prosecutors said intentionally left his 22-month-old son strapped inside a hot car to die because he wanted to live a child-free life, sits in Cobb County Magistrate Court . We are aware of the very public conversation going on about events pertaining to our daughters, they said in an email to the Times. But the Harrises explained that they were both early childhood educators, ran and operated a preschool and had experience working in therapeutic daycare centers. They were like any other kid I watched.. She called Justin and Marsha Harris to take her daughters. He holds a Master's . Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson has also instructed the state to review adoption procedures. The Arkansas Times piece, written by Benjamin Hardy, also points out that in that state there is no law that prohibits parents from leaving their child in another individual's care. (Video: KARK 4 News). The legislator adopted three girls and turned them over to a man who abused one of them. State Rep. Justin Harris, who gave his adopted daughters to a man who later admitted to sexually assaulting one of the girls won't seek re-election. They thrived in our home," said Cheryl Hart, who briefly cared for the children with her husband, Craig Hart. Count 2: Felony Murder. Chelsey Goldsborough, who regularly babysat for the Harrises, said Mary was kept isolated from Annie and from the rest of the family. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Harris also placed some of the blame on officials in the Arkansas Department of Human Services, whom he said misled them as to the abuse suffered by the girls. And though the two youngest girls had never given the Harts any severe problems, they did not believe the younger sisters should be placed in a home with any young children because of the abuse they had suffered in the past. It was during that interview that police learned the 6-year-old had been the victim of sexual abuse. 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 genuinely had a commitment, I think, but it wasnt near as easy as they thought that it was going to be. They argued they were more than capable of raising these young girls. And I just said, 'God, I can't do it anymore.' Casting out #demons: why Justin Harris got rid of kids he applied pressure to adopt http://t.co/UuTjiG5FsI pic.twitter.com/WGCVUDi0l6. 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. Yetothers involved in the case say that the Harrises knew the girls had mental and emotional challenges due to past trauma butinsisted on adopting themanyway, the Arkansas Times reported. Following the publication of the story, he and his wife, who have three biological sons, released a statement through their lawyer. Affani. At the Friday press conference, Justin Harris said he and Marsha had their biological sons sleep in their room for their protection from the young sisters. Sometimes you see kids put in a safe environment and all hell may break loose. 25g Karbolyn (may keep this on high days) Meal 5: 6oz meat. View Justin Harris results in Kentucky (KY) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. How exactly things could go so wrong for the girlsonce they were placed in the care of the Harris family is a study in failure at all levels. Francis is currently serving a 40-year sentence behind bars. Harris later suggested in the KARK interview that the agency was threatening him because of his political beliefs. They get desperate. Their attorney, Jennifer Wells, said in a statement: Exorcisms and telepathy are not part of the Harrises religious practice. The Harts kept the two younger sisters until October 2012, and their descriptions of the girls behavior throughout those 18 months stands in stark contrast to the harrowing picture painted by Justin Harris. "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 . He also offered another explanation in an interview with Arkansas Onlinesaying: 'When our adoption became final, we went to the court, the whole family, exchanged teddy bears and everything - and it was like a light bulb suddenly flipped on for the girls. Help us deliver the latest daily reporting and analysis on news, politics, culture and food in Arkansas. LIVE. Harris publicly announced on social media that the adoption had been finalized on March 6, 2013. We also are prohibited from clarifying any inaccurate information.. Goldsborough also alleged the family would keep the middle child isolated in her bedroom for long periods of time and blast Christian music at her doorway to help keep away demons. They are both strong and they are both very bold and very courageous and very creative. Justin Harris. Sign Up. She mistrusted DHS and disliked the foster system. Democratic Party Chair Vince Insalaco has called for Rep. Harris' resignation. This is hypocrisy at its highest level. The lawmaker also said DHS misled him about severe behavioral issues with the girls. But it was not just DHS. According to the source, Blucker made contact with Harris, who agreed to return the girls to DHS custody at a specified time, but Harris did not show up at the office and Blucker did not notify State Police that the girls wherebouts were unknown. Unless he gave them guns, they werent dangerous., He felt especially offended at Harris statement in the press conference thatthey had to medicate the middle child to prevent her from hurting her sister. He said Mary displayed only affection and kindness toward her younger sister. The Harrises learned that this behavior could be related to the girl's diagnosis of Reactive Attachment Disorder (R.A.D.) They were thrown in with a lot of transient people in their lives before us. He saw it as, Im with God. The ex-wife of a Georgia dad on . 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So you think of the typical labels these kids get, like Oh, theyre a sociopath, but when I asked her what she was doing she said, I was trying to get him to kill me, so I could go to heaven. It wasnt about controlling an animal she was so sad about everything that happened to her, she really wanted to die.. And throughout their childhood,police had documented sexual abuse in their home,which experts say can be a strong signal for potential predators. Asa Hutchinson has ordered a review of the agencys practices regarding adoption. Find Justin Harris's phone number, address, and email on Spokeo, the leading people search directory for contact information and public records. 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. Francis also had no criminal history, Rep. Harris claimed in that interview. In the group Reuters analyzed, more than half were described as having some sort of special need. 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]. When the therapeutic foster mother argued that troubled Jeannette in particular should not be placed into the Harris home, she said, Justin Harris waved away her concerns. According to a police report from Sgt. Instead, they wanted us to do it through the system. Even once the couple began the lengthy process of adopting through DHS, though, he said the agency fought us the whole way. Arkansas state legislator Rep. 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