NANCY GRACE, HOST: Tonight, a prime-time live exclusive. In all my years of
criminal law, I`ve never seen anything like it.
She was raised with nothing
in an obscure Russian orphanage, abandoned by her own mother. But then,
suddenly, an adoptive father comes to the rescue.
Tonight, the story of
a little girl adopted through a legitimate U.S. adoption agency to an American
pedophile. From ages 5 to 10, she endured nightly molestation, and then being
photographed by her adoptive father, making her one of the most popular child
porn stars on the Internet. But this story doesn`t end in tragedy.
Tonight, the miracle girl who beat the odds. The little girl who
survived is with us live.
Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace.
I want to thank you for being with us tonight.
Tonight, an
unprecedented live exclusive with a child who has shown more courage in her
short life than most of us show in a lifetime. Abandoned by her own mother, she
escaped a Russian orphanage, where she kept all her worldly possessions under
her pillow, to America.
Yes, she was adopted by an American -- an
American pedophile. For five years, she lived through torture, starting at age
5. Horrible child porn of this little child plastered on the Internet.
For remaining story:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0601/18/ng.01.html
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Judge to Hansen: Appear
Case history
In April 2010, Hansen sent her adopted Russian son back to Moscow alone on a plane with a letter saying he was violent, had psychological problems and that she didn't want him anymore. Since that time, she has refused to cooperate with investigators after the then 7-year-old boy -- identified in court documents as Artem Saveliev -- arrived in Russia. No criminal charges were ever filed, but Hansen's adoption agency, WACAP, filed a lawsuit in May 2010 against Hansen and her mother Nancy, seeking child support in Bedford County, where she was living at the time. The suit was first filed in Circuit Court, then transferred to Juvenile Court, where it was dismissed by Judge Charles Rich last year.
Remaining article here:
http://www.t-g.com/story/1819291.html
In April 2010, Hansen sent her adopted Russian son back to Moscow alone on a plane with a letter saying he was violent, had psychological problems and that she didn't want him anymore. Since that time, she has refused to cooperate with investigators after the then 7-year-old boy -- identified in court documents as Artem Saveliev -- arrived in Russia. No criminal charges were ever filed, but Hansen's adoption agency, WACAP, filed a lawsuit in May 2010 against Hansen and her mother Nancy, seeking child support in Bedford County, where she was living at the time. The suit was first filed in Circuit Court, then transferred to Juvenile Court, where it was dismissed by Judge Charles Rich last year.
Remaining article here:
http://www.t-g.com/story/1819291.html
Prosecutors propose amendments to adoption system for foreigners
16:1418/04/2006
MOSCOW, April 18 (RIA Novosti) - The prosecutor's office Tuesday submitted to the Education Ministry proposals on amending the procedure for foreigners to adopt children.
Deputy Prosecutor General Sergei Fridinsky said his office had already made proposals aimed at tightening control over the activities of foreign adoption organizations....
click here for article
MOSCOW, April 18 (RIA Novosti) - The prosecutor's office Tuesday submitted to the Education Ministry proposals on amending the procedure for foreigners to adopt children.
Deputy Prosecutor General Sergei Fridinsky said his office had already made proposals aimed at tightening control over the activities of foreign adoption organizations....
click here for article
Who's minding the children in Canada?
TIMOTHY APPLEBY
>From Saturday's Globe and Mail
When 13-year-old Russian-born Masha Allen testified in Washington this
week at a House of Representatives subcommittee investigating child
pornography, she described five years of Internet-distributed sexual
torment at the hands of the American pedophile who adopted her from an
orphanage — a chronicle of abuse that left her audience shocked.
But in one key regard, Masha's ghastly tale is not unusual, shedding
light on a gaping rip in the safety net that is supposed to govern
international adoptions. And so worrying is the gap that some of the
home countries have periodically blocked adoptions entirely, often when
the process is midway through.
After Masha arrived as a five-year-old at the Plum, Pa., home of Matthew
Mancuso in 1998, no social worker or government official ever stopped to
check on her, she recounted, even though regular visits and follow-up
reports were part of Mr. Mancuso's adoption agreement with the Russian
authorities....
click here for article
>From Saturday's Globe and Mail
When 13-year-old Russian-born Masha Allen testified in Washington this
week at a House of Representatives subcommittee investigating child
pornography, she described five years of Internet-distributed sexual
torment at the hands of the American pedophile who adopted her from an
orphanage — a chronicle of abuse that left her audience shocked.
But in one key regard, Masha's ghastly tale is not unusual, shedding
light on a gaping rip in the safety net that is supposed to govern
international adoptions. And so worrying is the gap that some of the
home countries have periodically blocked adoptions entirely, often when
the process is midway through.
After Masha arrived as a five-year-old at the Plum, Pa., home of Matthew
Mancuso in 1998, no social worker or government official ever stopped to
check on her, she recounted, even though regular visits and follow-up
reports were part of Mr. Mancuso's adoption agreement with the Russian
authorities....
click here for article
Russia Seeks to Make Adoptions by Foreigners Tougher
MOSCOW — Russian authorities, angered by rare but resonant cases of abuse of children adopted by foreigners, hope to have a law in place by the end of the year that would ban adoptions organized by groups or individuals without accreditation, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported Tuesday.
The government has approved draft legislation removing what officials call a legal loophole that allows so-called "independent adoptions" and hopes it will be passed by parliament by the end of the year, RIA-Novosti quoted the director of the Education Ministry department responsible for adoption, Sergei Apatenko, as saying.
Russians have been disturbed by the sometimes deadly abuse of Russian children adopted by foreigners -- mostly Americans. Apatenko said that in most cases the abused children were adopted by parents who bypassed accredited agencies, using unaccredited organizations or adopting children from orphanages without middlemen....
click here for article
The government has approved draft legislation removing what officials call a legal loophole that allows so-called "independent adoptions" and hopes it will be passed by parliament by the end of the year, RIA-Novosti quoted the director of the Education Ministry department responsible for adoption, Sergei Apatenko, as saying.
Russians have been disturbed by the sometimes deadly abuse of Russian children adopted by foreigners -- mostly Americans. Apatenko said that in most cases the abused children were adopted by parents who bypassed accredited agencies, using unaccredited organizations or adopting children from orphanages without middlemen....
click here for article
Mother Sentenced to 25 Years
Woman Had Admitted Killing Adopted Russian Daughter
By Theresa Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 26, 2006; Page B03
For the murder of her 2-year-old adopted Russian daughter, Peggy Sue Hilt will serve 25 years in jail, under a sentence imposed yesterday by a Prince William County judge.
"I think your conduct, at its core, is inexplicable, completely inexplicable," Circuit Court Judge William D. Hamblen said. "The child's death was not the product of a single act, a single blow. Her injuries were the result of a course of conduct over an extended period of time."
Hilt, 34, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in March after telling police that she punched, kicked and choked Nina Hilt at their Wake Forest, N.C., home during a rage in July. The child died a day later in Prince William, where the family was visiting friends....
click here for article
By Theresa Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 26, 2006; Page B03
For the murder of her 2-year-old adopted Russian daughter, Peggy Sue Hilt will serve 25 years in jail, under a sentence imposed yesterday by a Prince William County judge.
"I think your conduct, at its core, is inexplicable, completely inexplicable," Circuit Court Judge William D. Hamblen said. "The child's death was not the product of a single act, a single blow. Her injuries were the result of a course of conduct over an extended period of time."
Hilt, 34, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in March after telling police that she punched, kicked and choked Nina Hilt at their Wake Forest, N.C., home during a rage in July. The child died a day later in Prince William, where the family was visiting friends....
click here for article
US Mother Sentenced for Killing Adopted Russian Daughter
By VOA News
25 May 2006
An American woman has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing her daughter, a two-year-old girl adopted from Russia.
Peggy Hilt admitted to kicking and beating her daughter, Nina Victoria, in July of last year. The child died the day after the attack....
click here for article
25 May 2006
An American woman has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing her daughter, a two-year-old girl adopted from Russia.
Peggy Hilt admitted to kicking and beating her daughter, Nina Victoria, in July of last year. The child died the day after the attack....
click here for article
Adoptive mother's case under review
Adoptive mother's case under review
Thursday, June 1, 2006
WOODBURY
A hearing at which Heather Lindorff could have her bail revoked has been
continued to give the judge and defense attorney more time to review the
case.
Lindorff will remain free pending the outcome of the hearing, which is
scheduled for Tuesday.
Lindorff continued to abuse four of her adopted Russian children even
though she lost custody of them following a 2003 conviction for her role
in the death of another one of her children, prosecutors alleged last
week....
click here for article
Thursday, June 1, 2006
WOODBURY
A hearing at which Heather Lindorff could have her bail revoked has been
continued to give the judge and defense attorney more time to review the
case.
Lindorff will remain free pending the outcome of the hearing, which is
scheduled for Tuesday.
Lindorff continued to abuse four of her adopted Russian children even
though she lost custody of them following a 2003 conviction for her role
in the death of another one of her children, prosecutors alleged last
week....
click here for article
Abuse, deaths, prompt Russian to adopt new rules
BY RUTHANN ROBINSON
Changes to the law will be too late to help little Luke Evans of Lowell.
Prosecutors say the 16-month-old Russian adoptee was shaken to death by his adoptive mother in November 2001.
Natalie Fabian Evans was charged with murder 13 months later but has yet to face a jury. Her trial is scheduled to begin June 19.
In response to news reports that more than 10 Russian children adopted by American parents have died by neglect or violence since 1991, Russian officials passed an amendment in May prohibiting foreign, independent adoptions through unlicensed agencies....
click here for article
Changes to the law will be too late to help little Luke Evans of Lowell.
Prosecutors say the 16-month-old Russian adoptee was shaken to death by his adoptive mother in November 2001.
Natalie Fabian Evans was charged with murder 13 months later but has yet to face a jury. Her trial is scheduled to begin June 19.
In response to news reports that more than 10 Russian children adopted by American parents have died by neglect or violence since 1991, Russian officials passed an amendment in May prohibiting foreign, independent adoptions through unlicensed agencies....
click here for article
Woman to plead guilty in adoption fraud
Carmel - A woman accused of persuading six couples to give her nearly $100,000 after falsely telling them she would help them adopt Russian children has agreed to plead guilty to fraud charges.
Eyewitness News partners at the Indianapolis Star report Victoria Farahan could face up to 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. Authorities say Farahan told the couples she worked with an international agency and could use her Russian "contacts" to help them adopt children from that country....
click here for article
Eyewitness News partners at the Indianapolis Star report Victoria Farahan could face up to 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. Authorities say Farahan told the couples she worked with an international agency and could use her Russian "contacts" to help them adopt children from that country....
click here for article
Judge asks for more evidence in adoption agency fraud case
Sunday, June 11, 2006 Share Email Print Comment
By DAVID RYAN, Register Staff Writer
Napa County prosecutors will have to come up with more proof in their effort to refund money to the victims of a now-defunct Napa adoption agency.
Napa Superior Court Judge Raymond Guadagni said Friday he wanted more evidence from prosecutors before he would enter a default judgment against Ivan Jerdev, former president of Yunona USA, accused of bilking more than $1.1 million from more than 100 victims across the country.
Prosecutors charge Jerdev took money from would-be adoptive parents without connecting them with children they expected to welcome into their families. Jerdev's company reached many of its clients through Internet sites on which it posted the pictures of children from eastern Europe and elsewhere that Yunona claimed were available for adoption.
click here for article
By DAVID RYAN, Register Staff Writer
Napa County prosecutors will have to come up with more proof in their effort to refund money to the victims of a now-defunct Napa adoption agency.
Napa Superior Court Judge Raymond Guadagni said Friday he wanted more evidence from prosecutors before he would enter a default judgment against Ivan Jerdev, former president of Yunona USA, accused of bilking more than $1.1 million from more than 100 victims across the country.
Prosecutors charge Jerdev took money from would-be adoptive parents without connecting them with children they expected to welcome into their families. Jerdev's company reached many of its clients through Internet sites on which it posted the pictures of children from eastern Europe and elsewhere that Yunona claimed were available for adoption.
click here for article
U.S. court sentences couple for abusing adopted Russian child
WASHINGTON, June 20 (RIA Novosti) - A U.S. court sentenced an American couple for abusing their adopted 4-year-old handicapped son from Russia to four and two months in jail respectively, prosecutors said.
Jane Cochran, 43, from Alfred (ME) was charged with second-degree assault in February after allegedly beating up and even cutting off part of the boy's ear with a pair of scissors in summer 2005. The foster mother said she had become infuriated because the boy could not say his prayers in English.
Her husband, Timothy Cochran, 48, was accused of endangering the child and not reporting the domestic violence, prosecutors said....
Click here for article
Jane Cochran, 43, from Alfred (ME) was charged with second-degree assault in February after allegedly beating up and even cutting off part of the boy's ear with a pair of scissors in summer 2005. The foster mother said she had become infuriated because the boy could not say his prayers in English.
Her husband, Timothy Cochran, 48, was accused of endangering the child and not reporting the domestic violence, prosecutors said....
Click here for article
Adoptive mother loses bail,
Posted on Fri, Jun. 23, 2006
Adoptive mother loses bail, begins serving 6-year term
By Jan Hefler
Inquirer Staff Writer
A state Superior Court judge in Gloucester County yesterday revoked the
bail of Heather G. Lindorff, who was convicted of child endangerment in
the 2001 death of her 5-year-old adopted Russian son, Jacob.
Lindorff, 41, of Alloways Creek, Salem County, was led out of the
courtroom in handcuffs and ordered to begin her six-year state prison
term.
She had been free while appealing her conviction, but Judge Walter L.
Marshall Jr. ruled that she had violated the conditions of her $50,000
bail by having unsupervised contact with her four other adopted Russian
children. Lindorff had adopted the children with her husband, James, 55.
The prosecution contended at her 2003 trial that she had burned and
beaten Jacob at the family's former home in Franklin Township and
delivered the fatal blow in December 2001, less than two months after he
was adopted....
click here for article
Adoptive mother loses bail, begins serving 6-year term
By Jan Hefler
Inquirer Staff Writer
A state Superior Court judge in Gloucester County yesterday revoked the
bail of Heather G. Lindorff, who was convicted of child endangerment in
the 2001 death of her 5-year-old adopted Russian son, Jacob.
Lindorff, 41, of Alloways Creek, Salem County, was led out of the
courtroom in handcuffs and ordered to begin her six-year state prison
term.
She had been free while appealing her conviction, but Judge Walter L.
Marshall Jr. ruled that she had violated the conditions of her $50,000
bail by having unsupervised contact with her four other adopted Russian
children. Lindorff had adopted the children with her husband, James, 55.
The prosecution contended at her 2003 trial that she had burned and
beaten Jacob at the family's former home in Franklin Township and
delivered the fatal blow in December 2001, less than two months after he
was adopted....
click here for article
Adopted Russian Child Tortured by Foster Mother to Remain in U.S.
Adopted Russian Child Tortured by Foster Mother to Remain in U.S.
Created: 25.06.2006 16:45 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 16:45 MSK, 4 hours 32
minutes ago
MosNews
The adopted 4-year-old Russian child who was beaten by a U.S. woman will
stay in the area and be adopted by a new family.
The child, whose name and picture is being withheld by the newspaper, is
a United States resident and will not return to Russia, The Evening
Tribune reports.
“I saw him about three weeks ago, and I have had contact with the foster
parents and others who have contact with him, and he is doing very
well,” said the child’s legal counsel, Thomas Fuoco of Angelica. “Yes,
he will still be around here. I don’t foresee any difficulties in this
family adopting him, and the three of them make a wonderful family.”
On Tuesday, Allegany County Court Judge Thomas Brown sentenced Jane
Cochran, 44 to 120 days in jail, 90 days on electronic home monitoring,
five years of probation and to serve 100 hours of community service. Her
husband, Timothy Cochran, 49, will spend 60 days in jail and will be on
probation for three years....
click here for article
Created: 25.06.2006 16:45 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 16:45 MSK, 4 hours 32
minutes ago
MosNews
The adopted 4-year-old Russian child who was beaten by a U.S. woman will
stay in the area and be adopted by a new family.
The child, whose name and picture is being withheld by the newspaper, is
a United States resident and will not return to Russia, The Evening
Tribune reports.
“I saw him about three weeks ago, and I have had contact with the foster
parents and others who have contact with him, and he is doing very
well,” said the child’s legal counsel, Thomas Fuoco of Angelica. “Yes,
he will still be around here. I don’t foresee any difficulties in this
family adopting him, and the three of them make a wonderful family.”
On Tuesday, Allegany County Court Judge Thomas Brown sentenced Jane
Cochran, 44 to 120 days in jail, 90 days on electronic home monitoring,
five years of probation and to serve 100 hours of community service. Her
husband, Timothy Cochran, 49, will spend 60 days in jail and will be on
probation for three years....
click here for article
Adoption firm loses civil case
Sunday, July 16, 2006
By DAVID RYAN, Register Staff Writer
Napa prosecutors are looking to the sale of a local house later this month to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in reimbursement for victims of a defunct Napa adoption firm.
Prosecutors won a $368,000 default civil judgment July 11 against Ivan Jerdev, former president of adoption firm Yunona USA. The majority of which will go to reimburse 118 victims across the country who allege Yunona offered orphans for adoption who never available. About $60,000 will be paid out in civil penalties for violating state business laws.
Yet Jerdev won't pay a dime out of his own pocket because he is in Russia, reportedly facing child trafficking charges. A default judgment occurs when civil defendants fail to appear in court to defend themselves, but the other party delivers enough evidence to convince a judge to make a ruling....
click here for remaining article
By DAVID RYAN, Register Staff Writer
Napa prosecutors are looking to the sale of a local house later this month to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in reimbursement for victims of a defunct Napa adoption firm.
Prosecutors won a $368,000 default civil judgment July 11 against Ivan Jerdev, former president of adoption firm Yunona USA. The majority of which will go to reimburse 118 victims across the country who allege Yunona offered orphans for adoption who never available. About $60,000 will be paid out in civil penalties for violating state business laws.
Yet Jerdev won't pay a dime out of his own pocket because he is in Russia, reportedly facing child trafficking charges. A default judgment occurs when civil defendants fail to appear in court to defend themselves, but the other party delivers enough evidence to convince a judge to make a ruling....
click here for remaining article
Adoption reform addresses abuse
Foreigners wanting to adopt must undergo extensive testing
By Kristina Alda
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
August 16, 2006
Marie Mi?anová feeds infants at a nursery in Prague 4. Stricter measures
for international adoptions will come into effect this fall.
This fall will see the first foreign adoptions of Czech children under
strict regulations the government recently implemented to protect
children from abuse in their new homes.
The regulations, which went into affect late last month, were a response
to the death of 4-year-old Eric, a Czech Romany boy who died under
suspicious circumstances in January, only months after being adopted by
a family in Sweden....
click here for remaining article
By Kristina Alda
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
August 16, 2006
Marie Mi?anová feeds infants at a nursery in Prague 4. Stricter measures
for international adoptions will come into effect this fall.
This fall will see the first foreign adoptions of Czech children under
strict regulations the government recently implemented to protect
children from abuse in their new homes.
The regulations, which went into affect late last month, were a response
to the death of 4-year-old Eric, a Czech Romany boy who died under
suspicious circumstances in January, only months after being adopted by
a family in Sweden....
click here for remaining article
Child-Porn Victim Brings Her Story to Washington
Teen Shares Her Horrific Experiences at Congressional Hearing Targeting Online Porn
Aug. 31, 2006
There are approximately 3 million images of child pornography on the Internet.
As large as that number may seem, it can be a sad, abstract and faceless statistic.
In May, Masha Allen, a Russian-born 13-year-old, put a face on child pornography and its victims when she testified before Congress.
She revealed the horrific pain behind those numbers in written testimony that described her experiences as a victim of online child molestation and pornography.
Masha thought she was heading for a better life in America when she was adopted in 1998 by Matthew Mancuso, who brought the 8-year-old to his home in Pittsburgh.
Instead, she became a victim of child pornography as Mancuso adopted her with the purpose of molesting her and using her to produce pornographic photos, which he would then share with others.
She appeared in more than 200 explicit photos that circulated on the Internet....
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Primetime/International/story?id=1919036&page=1">click here for remaining article
Aug. 31, 2006
There are approximately 3 million images of child pornography on the Internet.
As large as that number may seem, it can be a sad, abstract and faceless statistic.
In May, Masha Allen, a Russian-born 13-year-old, put a face on child pornography and its victims when she testified before Congress.
She revealed the horrific pain behind those numbers in written testimony that described her experiences as a victim of online child molestation and pornography.
Masha thought she was heading for a better life in America when she was adopted in 1998 by Matthew Mancuso, who brought the 8-year-old to his home in Pittsburgh.
Instead, she became a victim of child pornography as Mancuso adopted her with the purpose of molesting her and using her to produce pornographic photos, which he would then share with others.
She appeared in more than 200 explicit photos that circulated on the Internet....
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Primetime/International/story?id=1919036&page=1">click here for remaining article
Child-Porn Victim Brings Her Story to Washington
Masha's Law
Masha's courage may now assist lawmakers as they look for ways to combat the growing child-porn industry.
Authorities say one in five children is now approached by online predators in what Congress calls a multibillion-dollar industry.
Nine other people have been convicted in federal court for downloading Masha's pictures.
There are dozens of notices of other pending cases, a number that does not begin to reflect the actual number of potential defendants in criminal and civil cases.
In July, President Bush signed Masha's Law, which dramatically increases the fines and penalties for downloading kiddie porn.
It's part of a larger law called the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which requires convicted child molesters to be listed on a national Internet database and face a felony charge for failing to update their whereabouts....
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Primetime/International/story?id=1919036&page=2">click here for remaining article
Masha's courage may now assist lawmakers as they look for ways to combat the growing child-porn industry.
Authorities say one in five children is now approached by online predators in what Congress calls a multibillion-dollar industry.
Nine other people have been convicted in federal court for downloading Masha's pictures.
There are dozens of notices of other pending cases, a number that does not begin to reflect the actual number of potential defendants in criminal and civil cases.
In July, President Bush signed Masha's Law, which dramatically increases the fines and penalties for downloading kiddie porn.
It's part of a larger law called the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which requires convicted child molesters to be listed on a national Internet database and face a felony charge for failing to update their whereabouts....
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Primetime/International/story?id=1919036&page=2">click here for remaining article
The siblings they left behind
By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY
Ruslan Pettyjohn lives in a home with a pool, plays on a soccer team, goes bike-riding with friends and has two doting parents. He seems to have everything a 13-year-old American boy would want. Except he doesn't have his big sister, Olga.
When Ruslan was adopted from Russia nearly four years ago, she was left behind in their village, sweeping floors and living in a condemned building with broken windows and no running water. She looked after him for years in the orphanage after their birth mother died. To give him a better life, she signed off on his adoption.
As international adoptions have soared, American parents are dealing with an unintended consequence: siblings torn apart. More parents are searching for their children's biological relatives, hoping to help them reconnect with their roots. Some want to adopt the kin; others just want to visit....
for remaining article
Ruslan Pettyjohn lives in a home with a pool, plays on a soccer team, goes bike-riding with friends and has two doting parents. He seems to have everything a 13-year-old American boy would want. Except he doesn't have his big sister, Olga.
When Ruslan was adopted from Russia nearly four years ago, she was left behind in their village, sweeping floors and living in a condemned building with broken windows and no running water. She looked after him for years in the orphanage after their birth mother died. To give him a better life, she signed off on his adoption.
As international adoptions have soared, American parents are dealing with an unintended consequence: siblings torn apart. More parents are searching for their children's biological relatives, hoping to help them reconnect with their roots. Some want to adopt the kin; others just want to visit....
for remaining article
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