IN - Couple charged with abandonment of adopted child after legally changing her age, Sept 2019

[AgeofAquaruis]

From the story above (BBM): "Kristine provided a letter to News 8 that claims to be from Michael’s doctor at IU Health, who also treated the girl at one time. IU Health refuses to confirm to News 8 if the document is genuine."

From Michael's doctor. Who is able to assess psych disorder, gynecological evidence AND dental maturation? What specialty is going to sign off on that cluster?*

*the answer is none

In another post it stated the 'documents' she showed News 8, were unsigned. So that tells me they are fake. So how did a judge approve the age change??????
MOO.

 

[AgeofAquaruis]

New to the case and don’t have a strong opinion yet. I have a daughter, adopted from Russia, who has autism. So, it hits close to home.

There are doctors who have a specialty in international adoption. They pour over records thoroughly, watch videos of the child and/or observe and examine the child in person. (Our agency encouraged us to send all of our daughter’s info to a doctor like this before we made the decision to adopt her.) It’s amazing how they look at different things to compute what they believe to be a child’s age. In our experience, and with others we know, their assessments have been spot on.

That is what is confusing me the most. Who determined the child’s age at the time she was adopted internationally and brought to the US? If it was a US adoption doctor, I completely buy his/her story. If it was an orphanage, I would have doubts. So many lies come from the orphanage directors, just to make a child more “adoptable”.

I’m going to wait and see how’s things pan out before I take a side. I do feel sorry for the girl. MOO, when you adopt a child, regardless of age, you have promised to be their family forever. If they truly believed fraud was involved, they should have went through proper channels.

JMO

Written a book about it, spread it on social media, gone on talk show,after talk show droning,on,and on about it.
MOO.

 

[GoneGoldfishin']

So they lied on their divorce petition.
MOO.

It's more likely that they did not adopt her, they just had a "financial arrangement" (bought her from someone else). So that statement could be true. MOO.

 

[Breezie]

It's more likely that they did not adopt her, they just had a "financial arrangement" (bought her from someone else). So that statement could be true. MOO.

It does sounds like rehoming.

Another scenario might be that the first family thought Kristine could help their daughter because of Jacob’s progress. She may have had a lot of problem behaviors, from being institutionalized, in the Ukraine. The first family may have even been giving Kristine and Michael, monthly support checks, for awhile, to take care of her. moo

"Autistic Genius" Jacob Barnett's Story is Touching, But How Much Money Will be Made Off Of His Intelligence? | BetaKit

With the onset of the Great Recession, Michael Barnett loses his job at Circuit City, the family is overextended financially, and the Barnetts spend part of the frigid Indiana winter in a house without heat,” noted the Post.

Did they bring the girl into their home because they really wanted a daughter or was there a financial incentive for having her in their home?

 

[GoneGoldfishin']

It does sounds like rehoming.

Another scenario might be that the first family thought Kristine could help their daughter because of Jacob’s progress. She may have had a lot of problem behaviors, from being institutionalized, in the Ukraine. The first family may have even been giving Kristine and Michael, monthly support checks, for awhile, to take care of her. moo

"Autistic Genius" Jacob Barnett's Story is Touching, But How Much Money Will be Made Off Of His Intelligence? | BetaKit

With the onset of the Great Recession, Michael Barnett loses his job at Circuit City, the family is overextended financially, and the Barnetts spend part of the frigid Indiana winter in a house without heat,” noted the Post.

Did they bring the girl into their home because they really wanted a daughter or was there a financial incentive for having her in their home?

I can't follow this case anymore. Your post in general, but specifically your last paragraph, describes what happened to my son to a tee. I am so saddened and sick that it has happened to another child. I hope everyone involved in this disgusting scheme is brought to justice soon. moo.

 

[AgeofAquaruis]

It's more likely that they did not adopt her, they just had a "financial arrangement" (bought her from someone else). So that statement could be true. MOO.

Ok They are very deceptive.
MOO

 

[cherrymeg]

I can't follow this case anymore. Your post in general, but specifically your last paragraph, describes what happened to my son to a tee. I am so saddened and sick that it has happened to another child. I hope everyone involved in this disgusting scheme is brought to justice soon. moo.

I'm sorry anything like this happens to kids. I hope your son is okay.

 

[bfin1995]

Glad to have found this discussion.

What a bizarro case, with so many unanswered questions. The mom seems emphatic in her claims, but wouldn't you call the police if you thought you were being scammed by an adult pretending to be a child? Seems much easier than trying to legally change a person's age. Hopefully mom has the paperwork to back up her claims.

 

[cherrymeg]

I can't follow this case anymore. Your post in general, but specifically your last paragraph, describes what happened to my son to a tee. I am so saddened and sick that it has happened to another child. I hope everyone involved in this disgusting scheme is brought to justice soon. moo.

I'm shocked by how often this seems to happen. It seems incredibly easy. I don't know if you have any insight you can offer. I realize it might be personal. I don't get how all these kids can exist under the radar and are vulnerable to predators of all sorts. It angers me and it's not personal. Is there a way to stop it.

 

[Medstudies]

Case Search - MyCase

Attached is a snapshot of her court filing (in case the link is temporary.)

According to the court record the address for KB, listed in New Palestine, Indiana.- just east of Indianapolis city limits.


His link: Case Search - MyCase

I’m waiting to see what evidence the state has against the parents. But... They’ve taken five years to get here? It leads me to feel they waited until they had solid proof to move forward. Maybe? But who knows?

ETA: just to note the original filing date of 7/10/2013

 

[Breezie]

Kristine Barnett: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com

Though Barnett has maintained that she is innocent of any crime, WISHTV reports that her ex-husband, Michael did believe their former adopted daughter was a child. What’s more, he has reportedly told authorities that he was coached by his wife to say that she wasn’t.

Per The Washington Post, Michael further alleged that his ex-wife coached their adopted daughter, too, to tell people that she was 22 years old if they asked.

 

[AgeofAquaruis]

Man who allegedly changed adopted daughter's age then abandoned her turns himself in
So she was planning on staring in a movie too. Wow.

 

[DD8]

Man who allegedly changed adopted daughter's age then abandoned her turns himself in
So she was planning on staring in a movie too. Wow.

I saw somewhere that the actress from Gone Girl was going to play her. No joke!

 

[forthelost]

I did see something on social media where a mother of a child with the same condition said there was no truth to the idea that it made it impossible to determine age by bone scan.

 

[Laughing]

I expect this pediatrician would be able to make a professional judgement about the various skeletal scans....

Mom & wife Jen Arnold!

Little People, Big World is what more "Reality TV" should be IMHO.

JMHO YMMV

 

[AgeofAquaruis]

I saw somewhere that the actress from Gone Girl was going to play her. No joke!

I find it interesting that she loves the spotlight,and talking about herself, her trouble with schools,teachers etc, how she's practically a miracle worker, Yet never ever mentioned the daughter or what was going on with her, or how the girl 'scammed'her. Then to find out she had a movie in the works. SMH.
MOO

 

[Breezie]

I find it interesting that she loves the spotlight,and talking about herself, her trouble with schools,teachers etc, how she's practically a miracle worker, Yet never ever mentioned the daughter or what was going on with her, or how the girl 'scammed'her. Then to find out she had a movie in the works. SMH.
MOO

She never mentioned the girl in her book. There are a couple paragraphs where she said that they opened their home to other children, through a program, at her church, called Safe Families. It is a volunteer program that is supposed to provide respite short term only. She mentions having a girl there while her single mom had surgery.

It is possible that she may have met the adoptive daughter that way but there is no mention of anyone staying with them long term. It seems like there are embellishments, in the book, but she really did help some families, creating autism support groups and activities, when they still lived in Indiana. The people, who believed in her, are going to be very let down when they realize that she truly did abandon this girl. The book ends after they moved to the farm in Canada.

It looks like the youth center, Jacob’s Place, her dream, for families of kids with autism, closed down, sometime, after they moved to Canada.

MOO

 

[Cryptic]

Stories of overseas adoptions gone awry really tug at my heartstrings. It should be a dream opportunity to have access to education and health resources and most importantly, a loving home. I am glad in this case it sounds like the girl has been taken in by others - but I am glad to see the adoptive "parents" being called to account for their horrible treatment of this child.

Though the treatment the girl received was horrible and the parents should face criminal charges, overseas adoptions from eastern Europe can go bad for many reasons.

These reasons include home country social services systematically concealing that the child has severe emotional or behavioral problems, has used violence, or has even been diagnosed as displaying sociopathic tendencies. It is not uncommon for local social services to maintain a "show" file for prospective adoptive parents from the west and a "real" file for local use.

In the end, more than a few US parents have simply been overwhelmed by a child with either concealed conditions that the child cannot control or very willful criminal behavior issues that they were not informed about that can endanger other members of their family. Though this does not excuse criminal conduct by the parents, desperate people can do desperate things.

 

[Scrapper18]

I’m trying to walk a tight line and stay within TOS RE: staying on topic. Both of my children are adopted internationally. Any child adopted comes from a trauma background - just the separation from birth parents is a trauma. Trauma often rears it’s head in ugly ways. If anyone wants more information on International Adoption and the effects on the child and adoptive parents, feel free to start a conversation with me.

 

[claudianunes]

Okay, I get that this girl could have been really hard, but they didn’t have to do something like that to her though. There’s just no excuse for what they did, sorry.