CA CA - Hannah, 16, Devonte, 15, & Sierra Hart, 12, Mendocino County, 26 March 2018 #1

[Stunned]

Yes, I'm sure they heard their mothers being praised..."bless you two for taking all this on," "oh my you've sure got your work cut out for you," "you must have the patience of saints!" (my assumptions, not real quotes).

Abused children learn to "read" people pretty well (generalization) in order to better survive and avoid abuse. So, if you've heard someone praising your abusive mother all the time, yeah, you aren't going to them for help.

These poor children. Their smiles haunt me.

Yes...exactly. No heroes there...

 

[rosemadderlake]

This is bad.

This comes from court documents. These reported incidents are piling up quickly. Who knows how many more will come to light?

Date of the report was September 2008. Devonte and his siblings had not been adopted yet.

Abigail and Hannah were probably 4 and 6 years old at the time and had been with Jen and Sarah since 2006- less than 2 years.

Yes, and from the same article, that 2010 assault was really bad, IMO. Bruising in the sternum, and back to the waist. That's not a spanking, that's a beating. And very dangerous in the organ areas of a small child.

It puts their explaining (PR) what a rough life these kids came from, and going the unregistered homeschool route into some perspective, too.


http://katu.com/news/local/hart-par...own-stairs-minnesota-sarah-hart-jennifer-hart

A criminal complaint was filed in Minnesota in 2010 against Sarah. Authorities say she spanked her then-6-year-old daughter so hard, she had bruises on her front side from her sternum to her bellybutton, and on her back from midway down her back to the waistband of her pants. Sarah admitted to police she "let her anger get out of control" and bent the little girl over the bathtub, hitting her over the backside.

 

[gcharlie]

Any idea what kind of investigations are going on right now and by whom?

California has an ongoing accident investigation and is looking for three missing children.

As far as we know, Washington state has an open case for child abuse. Anyone know if Washington is obligated to conduct a missing children's investigation as well?

IMO, it is important for more information to come to light about what these children may have gone through with these parents so that people know more about the warning signs of child abuse and will come forward to report things.

This is nothing short of tragic.

 

[flourish]

Yes, and from the same article, that 2010 assault was really bad, IMO. Bruising in the sternum, and back to the waist. That's not a spanking, that's a beating. And very dangerous in the organ areas of a small child.

It puts their explaining (PR) what a rough life these kids came from, and going the unregistered homeschool route into some perspective, too.


http://katu.com/news/local/hart-par...own-stairs-minnesota-sarah-hart-jennifer-hart

Yes there was a clear danger of internal organ damage with something like that. Little kids are oddly fragile yet not. If that makes sense... Like I've seen preschool kids biff it SO HARD and just get up and keep going while they can also get hit or injured just "so" and die. You always have to check them and keep an eye out for behavior changes etc too because sometimes little guys have a hard time recognizing and identifying their injuries. For example, I put on a nightgown that was too small for me when I was about four, and the elastic in the arms cut off my circulation so eventually I awoke and found my mom telling her my "hands felt funny" and they were terrifyingly swollen and discolored. Needless to say my mama spent the rest of the night removing elastic from all my clothes. Point is, kids don't always know what's up, so we have to watch out for them and also believe them and act when they do disclose.

 

[Hatfield]

I’m thankful I was never made to hug anyone or made my kids hug anyone, random relatives or grandparents clown friend included. That guy scared the crap out of me and my kids too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

JMO
I grew up with my parents forcing me to hug every and all relative and extended relative whenever we would visit any of them. I luckily did not have any creepy relatives but I do remember feeling quite uncomfortable when I met some of them for the first time and did not know this "stranger" in front of me and was being forced to approach them for a hug.

I have not had children but if I did I would only reserve closeness like that only with the very closest of relatives like Grandma Grandpa only and I would join the child in approaching the grandparents as in hugs all around for all of us.

Having flashbacks from a movie where Grandma pinches the child's cheek really hard and says "Goochie Goochie".

 

[nothingnew]

They lived coastal for 7 years? I don't know if they did or not.

I have driven the 1 and through Rocky Mountains many times and I was always nervous. That is just me though.

Also, we still don't know conditions- weather, fog, stress, tired, time of day, etc.

All just my thinking-if you are a camping/YouTubey family and you live in WA/OR/CA, you get to know the coast. I can drive maybe an hour on the 1 but that's just in my area. I call shotgun and am blessed to be surrounded by good drivers I trust. I think you're kind of supposed to be nervous. And in the fog you're heart should be pounding IMO. Stay calm and all but I think you should be hearing your heart in your ears.

Maybe not 7 years, 5-6? Don't quote me on dates unless I give a link, please & thank you!

 

[keeleydoll]

The old ,” Fell down the stairs, “ excuse

About as reliable as “I fell into a door knob”[emoji853]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Maybe the kids weren't belted because there were too many kids in the car. Like 6 kids for 3 seats.....

Someone up thread verified that it was a vehicle which had two in the front and then 3 + 3 in the back two seats so that would mean eight or fitted with seat belts.

 

[Starkville]

Thanks.

Yeah, I was thinking of the times my parents had me hug people (in one case it actually was a singer) and how weird and awkward it was. I assumed he did it because his parents told him but now I see maybe it was about him as well.

As I understand it, forcing children to hug or kiss strangers or relatives is not a good idea. It sends the message that they don’t have bodily autonomy and that adults are entitled to their affection and access to their bodies.

My SILs usually tell my nieces and nephews to hug and kiss me (I’m a woman). Niece always does without prompting because she’s a cuddle bug. The boys aren’t, so I say “I’d rather have a high-five!” Or a fist bump.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Those kids are working really hard at trying to look happy. No doubt they were being coached—e.g. by the photographer—until the effect was right. But it looks like an act.

Throw tomatoes at me, but it looks like most of my friends and their families.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

If I understand the search warrant request, in order for it to be granted, a felony must be suspected.

It did say in an article a felony was suspected, but I haven't seen what the felony was that they were attributing it to

 

[travelbug]

Jen Hart possibly sighted in Fort Bragg day before deadly crash, authorities say

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...f/2018/04/jen_hart_possibly_sighted_in_f.html

Reading through the linked articles I found this information that I hadn't seen before: ..Sarah Hart reached a probation agreement April 14, 2011, a week after she pleaded guilty to physically abusing one of her daughters, who was then 6 years old.

The next day, all six of their adopted children were taken out of public schools in Alexandria where the family lived before moving to Oregon. They would never attend public school again.

Devonte Hart's little sister told police in 2010 she was beaten, denied food
Devonte Hart's little sister told police in 2010 she was beaten, denied food

In an interview with Minnesota authorities, 6-year-old Abigail Hart said one of her mothers had struck her with a closed fist and later placed her in a cold bath before hitting her again in a fit of anger.


"The leave date indicates all six children left prior to the end of the school year for a homeschool setting," Jill Johnson, a spokeswoman for the school district, told The Oregonian/OregonLive in an email Tuesday.

Also, an Alexandria police report obtained Tuesday shows a different daughter told authorities in 2008 that one of her mothers bruised her with a belt.
Asked about the beating, Jennifer and Sarah Hart told a police investigator and social worker the girl had fallen down the stairs. ."...

 

[claudianunes]

I'm a single parent, and I have all the expensive gear....why? I live in Boulder, CO....a fairly well off outdoorsy town where people buy stuff and never use it. I can get Patagonia jackets for $12 at the thrift shop. Merrills for $9 (usually 200+). A lot of this stuff is barely used. Everything I own is expensive name brand, but I pay next to nothing. Easy enough to do if you know how. A friend of mine feeds her entire family of five on coupons...she was actually on a coupon TV show at one point lol. I am FAR from wealthy, as is she. Also, I think one worked retail, you can get some sweet discounts that way too.

Off topic to the thread but man, I loved those coupon shows lmao.

 

[flourish]

JMO
I grew up with my parents forcing me to hug every and all relative and extended relative whenever we would visit any of them. I luckily did not have any creepy relatives but I do remember feeling quite uncomfortable when I met some of them for the first time and did not know this "stranger" in front of me and was being forced to approach them for a hug.

I have not had children but if I did I would only reserve closeness like that only with the very closest of relatives like Grandma Grandpa only and I would join the child in approaching the grandparents as in hugs all around for all of us.

Having flashbacks from a movie where Grandma pinches the child's cheek really hard and says "Goochie Goochie".

As an early childhood educator, I always discouraged parents from forcing or expecting children to offer physical touch to others. Children need to know their bodies are theirs. It's confusing for them to be told not to talk to strangers but go hug this guy I went to University with.

(While I'm on the topic, we discouraged using the terms "good touch"and "bad touch" and encouraged using "safe" and "unsafe" instead... Much less confusing and not so... subtle victim blaming)

 

[Hazel]

Jen and Sarah Hart are mentioned as Parents



https://youthmusicempower.bandcamp.com/track/smiley

 

[keeleydoll]

As I understand it, forcing children to hug or kiss strangers or relatives is not a good idea. It sends the message that they don’t have bodily autonomy and that adults are entitled to their affection and access to their bodies.

My SILs usually tell my nieces and nephews to hug and kiss me (I’m a woman). Niece always does without prompting because she’s a cuddle bug. The boys aren’t, so I say “I’d rather have a high-five!” Or a fist bump.

Exactly this. If my kids organically hug my mom or sister who they spend a decent amount of time with or another grandparent they’re comfortable with, fine. I will never ever prompt any of them to have physical contact with anyone that they are uncomfortable with and they know this. My husband’s family is basically absent except for Christmas and the kids even if they don’t realize it are very resentful of it and are much more conscious of Amy physical contact with these family members they see maybe once a year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Talulah]

I've been reading/lurking on this forum for many years and one thing I've learned is that you can't look at pictures and know horrible things are happening. However, their smiles do often seemed a bit forced, and I do believe I am reading a grimace and barely controlled anger from Devonte in many of the pictures. I read in one article that he had serious anger issues when he was adopted. If that is true, I very much doubt the treatment he received with the Hart's did much to help that. Hannah's closed mouthed smile and unhappy expression is also something that carries over from picture to picture. But again, maybe she would have been that way with any family.

As an aside, I read a lot of this sort of thing with the Turpin case - people analyzing the pictures and deciding the kids couldn't have been treated as badly as the evidence indicated because they looked nice in pictures. I think it's a dangerous thing to rely on pictures too much to form opinions.

 

[WausauCate]

This article has more info about one of the daughters. I had not seen it posted but apologize if it has been. This gives me chills...

“Bruce DeKalb recalled how one night, about three or four months after the Harts moved into the house next door last year, Hannah Hart pounded on his door. She was “covered in weeds” after jumping out of the family’s second-story window and running through the woods to reach DeKalb’s house, he said. She ran up DeKalb’s stairs, found the bedroom and woke up DeKalb’s wife, Dana.

“That kid was totally losing her mind, just rattled to the bone,” Bruce DeKalb told The Washington Post. “You can’t fake that.”

Sarah and Jennifer Hart and the rest of their children then rushed into DeKalb’s house, looking for Hannah. They found her upstairs, crouched between the bed and the dresser. After Jennifer Hart spoke with Hannah, she came down and apologized to the DeKalbs.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...f-cliff-had-troubled-home-life-neighbors-say/

None of the instances involve the same child. The first one involved AH, the second involved HH, and the third involved DH. I also find it interesting that the same mother who AH said punched her is the same one driving the SUV and the same one who spoke with HH convincing her to come home. I hope I am wrong but it seems like she was the one in control and abusing the kids. If she is the one who actually adopted the kids, could that be why SH confessed to the initial charges and why she put up with the abuse? I don’t know a lot about adoption and I know that not all CPS claims are accurate, but I see red flags all over the place with this one.

Wow!! I did not know any of this. What in the hell were they doing to those children to put them in that state of mind. And why did all the kids need to rush over with the mothers????

 

[Hatfield]

Reading through the linked articles I found this information that I hadn't seen before: ..Sarah Hart reached a probation agreement April 14, 2011, a week after she pleaded guilty to physically abusing one of her daughters, who was then 6 years old.

The next day, all six of their adopted children were taken out of public schools in Alexandria where the family lived before moving to Oregon. They would never attend public school again.

Devonte Hart's little sister told police in 2010 she was beaten, denied food
Devonte Hart's little sister told police in 2010 she was beaten, denied food

In an interview with Minnesota authorities, 6-year-old Abigail Hart said one of her mothers had struck her with a closed fist and later placed her in a cold bath before hitting her again in a fit of anger.


"The leave date indicates all six children left prior to the end of the school year for a homeschool setting," Jill Johnson, a spokeswoman for the school district, told The Oregonian/OregonLive in an email Tuesday.

Also, an Alexandria police report obtained Tuesday shows a different daughter told authorities in 2008 that one of her mothers bruised her with a belt.
Asked about the beating, Jennifer and Sarah Hart told a police investigator and social worker the girl had fallen down the stairs. ."...

JMO

Re BBM
This may be a classic case of using homeschooling to hide abuse at the home.

We have seen many cases now where homeschooling is becoming a common theme. I am not sure of the correlation yet but I am definitely seeing a theme in some of these cases.

This may be the first one that all but shows they used homeschooling to hide abuse.

ETA It will take a little work to gather all the cases. The one off the top is the Turpin case where homeschooling was talked about a lot. There have been others too that are fairly recent cases.

 

[bears10]

My husband always says when people are living above their means, scratch an inch and you will find a trust fund.

Or a lot of credit card debt imo.