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A previously convicted Illinois man was detained on new charges for producing child pornography. In October 2009 he pled guilty to charges of predatory criminal sexual abuse in 2006. The victim was 12 years old.
The former college football player, then sentenced to two and a half years of probation, has also been part of a well-known custody battle. The judge ordered the child out of the foster home in 2009 and placed with the grandparents. Judge Duff also cut visitation between the child and his foster parents pending the outcome of an appeal by the foster parents.
The boy had lived with the foster parents since he was two days old. He was removed from his mother after being born with cocaine in his system. The baby had digestive and respiratory problems and was developmentally delayed. The foster parents even had to teach the boy how to crawl and suck from a bottle. They later decided to adopt the boy.
The grandmother, never having had a relationship with the child, had a confirming DNA test done before seeking custody.
The judge found no evidence that the suspect was a threat to the child, noting that the suspect was accused, not convicted. The judge further stated that even with a conviction, there were no charges that would make her believe that other children would be endangered.
Duff also overruled findings by the DCFA Administrative Law Judge, who stated that the only home and parents the boy had ever known were the foster parents and that they had provided “exemplary parenting, love, and attention, as well as medical care and therapy.” She also stated that the boy “will suffer emotional trauma” if the relationship with the foster parents ends. Duff is quoted as saying the administrative law judge’s findings were made “more on speculative outcomes; that had no factual basis.”
Judge Duff, in a different case, ordered a child to be returned home, even though there were abuse allegations, and the child was beaten to death four months later. One DCFS worker called the initial injuries “accidental,” another caseworker labeled them “intentional.” Judge Duff told The News-Democrat that she did not know about the other caseworker’s report.
The Belleville News-Democrat quoted the lawyer for the foster parents, saying about the new charges against the boy’s biological father, “I am thrilled that someone finally took these claims seriously.”
The suspect is being held in federal custody until the August trial. As of June 10th, a decision on the custody appeal has not been made. And a little boy is left drifting.
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