http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529184,00.html?mrp Friday, June 26, 2009 WASHINGTON — A Duke University official has been arrested and charged with offering his adopted 5-year-old son for sex. Frank Lombard, the school's associate director of the Center for Health Policy, was arrested after an Internet sting, according to the FBI's Washington field office and the city's police department. According to an affidavit by District of Columbia Police Det. Timothy Palchak, an unnamed informant facing charges in his own child sex case led authorities to Lombard. Authorities said that Lombard tried to persuade a person — who he did not know was a police officer — to travel to North Carolina to have sex with Lombard's child. The detective's affidavit charges Lombard identified himself online as "perv dad for fun," and says that in an online chat with the detective, Lombard said he had sexually molested his son, whom he adopted as an infant. The court papers say Lombard also invited the undercover detective to North Carolina to have sex with the young boy, and even suggested which hotel he should use. Lombard was charged in federal court in Washington with attempting to induce someone to cross state lines to engage in sex with a child. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Lombard's lawyer did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs at Duke, said Lombard has been employed with Duke University since 1999. He is now on unpaid administrative leave. "Duke is cooperating with the investigation," Schoenfeld said. He said the university was notified of the incident after Lombard was arrested. Authorities executed a search warrant Wednesday evening at Lombard's home, according to court documents. The papers show investigators seized two webcams, five computers and a sex toy, among other items. ETA fair point Jen but people do go on and on about the hoops PAPs have to jump through and the stringent background checks they are subject to. . . ETA: So, your point is it's OK because bios do it too. yee gads. ETA. That's fortunate Sharon. Doesn't help this little guy though does it Is that all they do then? Criminal check. They don't speak to family or colleagues, get character references. C'mon someone had to know he was a perv
Adoption - 25 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
well, the hope is for a chance at a better life. Life really has no guarantees. i really hate it when they include the words "adopted" in stories. why can't they just say "son" why include term.
2 :
*sigh* So, should I find another article about a child being abued and killed by their biological parents and hold it up as an example of "death by not being adopted?" I really hate these questions. ETA: So, your point is that background checks aren't always 100% foolproof? Nobody here is going to argue that. If the guy didn't have a criminal record, there would be nothing for a background check to find. (And most adoption agencies/states require references as well. Are you so sure SOMEONE must have known he was a perv? I was reading about a high school principal being arrested for child molestation recently. Talk about fingerprinting and background checks that need to be run there!) ETA2: Of course not. Please don't be intentionally obtuse. *eyeroll* Never did I say that child abuse by an adoptive parent is excusable because biological parents do it. For those who need me to spell it out: It is neither fair, nor logical to hold up an example of child abuse by an adoptive parent to make a sweeping judgment against ALL adoptions, just as it is neither fair, nor logical to hold up an example of child abuse by a biological parent to make a sweeping judgement against ALL biological parents.
3 :
: ( Poor baby.
4 :
not all kids that get adopted happen like that I have put child up for adoption about 2 years old she lives in the same city as I do and its open adoption....
5 :
ONLY 20 YEARS I SAY ALL CHILD MOLESTERS SHOULD PAY WITH THEIR LIVES! PAID LEAVE FOR A SICKO THAT THINKS IT IS OKAY TO HARM CHILDREN DISGUSTING COMPLETELY DISGUSTING. NOT OKAY FOR USING CHILDREN FOR THEIR OWN SICK PLEASURE. THIS CHILD WILL HAVE ISSUES WITH SEX FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE BECAUSE OF HIS ADOPTIVE FATHER MAY HE BE BURNED ALIVE FOR HIS CRIME!
6 :
ususally
7 :
of course it doesnt always offer a better life. but often it does. people on here claim adoption is always a bad thing which is nonsense. that man could easily have had a bio child and treated it the same way. the fact the child was abused has nothing to do with it being adopted.
8 :
"Is that all they do then? Criminal check. They don't speak to family or colleagues, get character references. C'mon someone had to know he was a perv" Nope...they don't talk to ANYONE without the PAP's permission. Pretty easy to get through the system that way. The process needs MORE checks and balances. This question has me curious...how many people actually HAVE received a 'better life' from adoption? I know there are a few here for whom their adoption was necessary, but other than that, most adoptees seem to have either gotten a 'different' life - not better - or a worse life. Of course, only those who are in reunion would know the answer to that question...but of those who actually know their first families and can make a reasonable guess, it seems that those who actually got a better life are in the minority.
9 :
Good Grief! I can't believe a few of the answers you have received here. Implying that if bio-parents can abuse children...then let's the adoptor off the hook as well, and that.. O! Well! happens in bio-families too! It is absolutely insane the degree that some people will go to justify that which no justification even exists. This f**kin pervert should be castrated and then put in a cell with 10 giant dudes with peckers to match...that will rape him over and over again. I think in this case...An eye for an eye...would be very just punishment. The death penalty would be the easy way out for him. This child was adopted as an 'infant'..I am seriously suspecting then this poor child was not removed from his mother for 'abuse & neglect'. And even if he was...My God...to endure even more horror such as this. Really makes me question about a so-called 'merciful god'. Or was this 'God's Plan' that this child was born to the wrong mother/parent..and God 'chose' adoption for this boy to be adopted by a pervert?? O! I bet not in this case...in this case..it wouldn't be "God's Plan" for him to be adopted by this perv. So who 'chose' this perv for adoption?? Nope not 'God's Plan' this time...must be the irresponsible burfmuggle...mistakes in the home-study...the Government!! Nope, surely not the Almighty God's Hand was involved in this particular adoption 'plan'. Is there a 'Satan's Plan' for adoption as well? I am so sorry this poor little boy ever had to endure such horrific suffering...NO child...non-adopted or adopted should ever be so horribly abused.
10 :
I don't know why it's so hard for people to get that adoption is not really a "better" life, but a different path. A life in squalor could be a "better" life for me because I would have the love of my biological parents. A life with adoptive parents could be "better" because it offered more opportunity. You never know which is better for you because you can't go back and take the other road to find out. And "better" is subjective anyway. It is kind of closed minded to say to make the argument he could have been molested by biological family too. The whole argument used to convince moms into surrender is the "better life" thing. It makes me sad when adoptive parents and potential adoptive parents say there should be less restriction on adoption. There should be more restrictions and it SHOULD be difficult. These kids deserve the best parents they can get after already having lost their natural parents. They don't deserve to have standards lowered and crappy parents let in. Some people will say "oh well biological children have crappy parents too". But biological parents have not already been forced to endure the loss of their natural parents and sometimes their country and culture all at one time. The kind of people who would say something like that obviously don't care about children
11 :
The thing about adoption is that somehow, we're supposed to believe the children are chosen. In fact, the adoptive parents are the ones who are chosen, and in this case, wow, what a completely horrendous choice. This is exactly why I have no sympathy for anyone complaining about what they have to 'go through' to adopt. This is exactly the type of person that is NOT supposed to be chosen to be a parent. And enough of this 'as if born to' garbage. The fact is, this kid WASN'T born to this guy. He was intentionally placed with him through a complete failure of society's institutions. Those directly responsible for the placement of this child should be held personally accountable for his fate. Unfortunately, they won't be.
12 :
What happened to this boy is terrible, no matter what the circumstances were. He should have never had to be abused in such a disgusting, twisted way and his adoptive father deserves the worst of all punishments. But for those who do the shrug and the, "So what. It happens in bio families too," there is something you aren't seeing or recognizing. Yes abuse is terrible and nobody should ever have to go through that and every one case is too many. But to not see and understand the fact that there is a reality out there that those like my son (and more than likely this poor boy) were abused BECAUSE of adoption. Because that promise of a "better life" is a myth, a lie, fed to keep the billion dollar profits rolling within the industry. Perhaps it might be too hard for some to imagine, but try to be a young, confused pregnant woman sitting in a so-called counselors office being told if she kept her child she might abuse or neglect him or her even though there is absolutely no history, no signs, nothing to prove that true except for the fact she happens to be unexpectedly pregnant. It is drummed into your head, over and over again, that strangers with more money, possessions, married, college degrees, will be much better parents than you could ever hope to be. They stress how they are so careful in making sure these strangers are "good and fit" parents with the home study, background checks, etc . . . And then fast-forward twenty-years and that same confused, pregnant woman has grown and changed because that is what life is about. She has raised, loved and nurtured three more children. She never abused or neglected. Never left them to struggle on their own or be without the comfort and security of knowing she was there for them. And then she is reunited with her oldest child who she surrendered and she learns he has been mentally and physically abused by those who were supposively "better" than her. That her child's life turned out to be everything she didn't want for him and she had been unable to protect her child from that horror in the same way she had always protected her other children from any such ugliness. Imagine seeing such pain on your child's face and knowing, regardless of all the games the adoption agency pulled on you to be sure you surrendered your child, it was still you who put your child in his adoptive mother's arms. You who so naively believed the "better life" bull they fed you. Imagine knowing your child had been hurt and being unable to do anything about it, to change it, to make it better for him. That is why pregnant women have to be aware of these truths in adoption. It isn't something to shrug at and brush aside as it happens here or there too. It is a fact they deserve to know because this boy, my son, and others were abused and neglected BECAUSE of adoption, because others believed the one who could write the check and pass some homestudy tests were the ones who would offer that "better" life when they in reality offered a much worse life than our children would have had with us, with the mother's who loved them before they were ever born and would never harm them in the way they were by their adoptive parents.
13 :
I would say "no" because there are no guarantees. We certainly read more stories of children being sexually abused by a family member than an adoptive parent. An when it's an adoptive parent that commits the crime the headlines are bigger,.it sells more papers, the media do a double take. It's not supposed to happen in adoptive homes and it's not supposed to happen in bio homes but it DOES. It is a shame and a disgrace for any parent to abuse a child and measures need to be implemented to save all children from abuse and neglect. The agency does a background check, runs the fingerprints through the FBI, and DOES talk to other contacts with out the person's consent, which can include the police dept. and sheriff's dept. There are other checks that are run also.
14 :
Sometimes it is. Sometimes it is not. Obviously it was NOT in the case of the young boy in this article. There is no one size fits all answer to this question.
15 :
Of course adoption does not always offer a better life. And that is one of its big failings....because adoption is supposed to be the 'safety net." Adoption is supposed to serve the needs of children who have lost their family and home. The fact that bio-families can abuse children is relevant ONLY because some children need adoption due to removal from the bio-family home because of abuse. If children who have been abused or orphaned are then adopted and subjected to further harm..that is a double failure. Someone needs to be looking out for these children. I don't understand the flippant view that says"oh, well, bios abuse, too..."
16 :
I believe that it is imperative that these stories be shown. I think that when someone adopts, they have set themselves up as better than the natural parents to care for the child and by so doing, are held to a higher standard. It is a standard that they have established, and one to which they need to be held, I believe. Despite what the literature says, adoptive families are NOT like natural families. No natural family is predicated on loss. Natural families just happen, often times. Adoptive families don't. They are carefully planned and so the stresses should not come as a surprise. They should have been trained to expect them. Just my opinion, of course. I expect that there will be some who will wholeheartedly disagree with it. I don't care. When you designate yourself as more prepared, have more resources, better in every single way to parent the child than the mother that Nature intended, the expectations are pretty darn high!
17 :
I believe in alot of cases, it's not better - just different (from a non-abusive home to a different non-abusive home OR from an abusive home to an abusive home). But, in some, yes, better (say from an abusive home to a non-abusive home). Further, in few cases, it's worse - not better (from non-abusive homes to abusive homes).
18 :
Give me a break. There will ALWAYS be a nut of a parent whether the child is adopted, biological or a foster kid. I just hope this kid is not fu cked up for life because of that piece of crap. And no, people don't walk around with "perv" written on their foreheads.You would be surprised in how many people you personally know who are into weird sh it.
19 :
Dear Heather, I live 20 minutes from Durham and when I saw this I was absolutely horrified. As a FM it is one of my GREATEST FEARS. What makes me truly ill are the quotes from the perpetrator I heard on the news this evening: "A search warrant filed for Lombard's house further outlines the case against him, and includes a transcript of the chat between Palchak and "F.L." In the chat transcript, "F.L." is asked how he got access to a child so young. "Adopted," he replied, and said that the process was "not so hard ... esp (sic) for a black boy." In the chat, "F.L.� told Palchak that abusing the child was "easier when he was too young to know what was happening and when he couldn't talk ...He had a little too much Benadryl. Was knocked out."" http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/5445704/ On another local news report this evening, some of Lombard's computer exchanges were quoted. In them, he talks about how much easier it is to molest "a non-related child" because there is "less stress" about the effects on the child. I almost threw up when I saw/heard it. Lombard and his partner have two adopted children. The victim was adopted as a newborn. It is sickening to think that his intentions were to abuse this child all along. I cannot help but wonder about the other child and the partner (Was he aware? Imagine the guilt if he wasn't! Lombard's computer records show his partner was often traveling on business.) too. There is much more to come out here and I am deeply saddened and worried for the children. This man's selfish and disgusting actions have ruined countless lives and 20 years is not justice for what he has taken away from so many - ESPECIALLY these children (who knows how many OTHER victims there are - he was obviously NOT a novice). I totally agree with you that there should be "truth in advertising" on ALL sides of adoption. It is true that there is no guarantee that adoption offers a "better life"; only a different one as others have said. Yes. Abuse DOES sometimes happen in biological families, however multiple studies indicate that crime occurs more frequently among non-blood related people - even in "family crimes". This in NO WAY means that there are not wonderful and loving adoptive families who who never ever dream of abusing their children. Family crimes only account for an estimated 12% of American crimes to begin with. Abuse happens in all kinds of situations, but people should exercise extra caution when entrusting their child to someone else because THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES. People considering adoption should be told that closest guarantee to an assurance of the safest place for their child is with THEM unless they are a danger themselves. IMO, while this case is NOT TYPICAL, it IS another example of how things can go horribly wrong and how the system is in need of reform. A huge dose of HONESTY would be a great start...
20 :
Yes there are a zillion hoops for adoptive parents to go through. I am going to think they are MORE stringent in foster care/state than those who are paying money to aodpt. I don't think it is alwasy a better life. I think ways it CAN be worse is: -Closed adoption/no talk of adoption hidden/secret etc. -Parents try to buy love -People thinking they are saving the children -People not understanding the true needs of their children and work through the loss -Ashholes being allowed to adopt. I think it our case we won't say it is "better". We are good parents we know this, but in the end the better life woudl have been for mom to not have gone through her own childhood in foster care and had made better choices that did not leave the children negelcted. Yes we give a better life in that we are good parents, we feed our children etc. etc. etc, but the true better lifve I think woudl have been to have their first mom be able to parent. Alas she wasn't which is why we came in. My children will have a great life, but "better"? I can't judge what is better. They will be happy and be given opportuniteis to grow and learn and develop, but they will always have to deal with the pain of their original loss, so how is that truly "better"
21 :
If he had done that to any child, I know Everyone would pity the fool, After I got done with him. Good old street justice! He could only get 20 yrs. What ever!
22 :
Of course not, that is just like saying EVERY adoption is horrible and ALL adopted children will end up abused.
23 :
No. In some cases where a child has been abused it is better but generally their lives are just different, no better no worse. The one of the worst cases I heard of which came from the horse's mouth rather than reading it in a newspaper came from someone I 'met' online and we became friends. Her mother suffered badly with post natal depression after having her third child so went to see her doctor. Unfortunately this was during the Cleveland Scandal - http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2008/07/08/20-years-on-from-the-cleveland-child-sex-abuse-scandal-84229-21303317/ - so instead of her mum being treated all three children were removed. The accusation was that their dad was abusing them. Eventually two years after the accusation their parents successfully fought to get their daughters back out of a foster care home. The judge agreed that whilst none of the children should have been removed their brother who had gone to foster parents should stay with them as he had got attached to them and was adopted. A few years ago they were found by another young man who had been adopted by the same couple. His tale was horrific as this couple had systematically abused every child they had fostered and adopted. One of the girls they adopted committed suicide. Despite reports of the abuse the couple weren't prosecuted but around this time the lad that found my friend's family lost it and hit his adad. To cut a long story short the truth finally came out. The lad told my firend and family that her brother had done a runner as he couldn't take the abuse any more shortly before he found them. The family still don't know where he is.
24 :
No - not always. Every parent who claims that he/she has "chosen" adoption because the child will have a better life should be required to read this: "Some of Lombard's computer exchanges were quoted. In them, he talks about how much easier it is to molest "a non-related child" because there is "less stress" about the effects on the child." And - Remember this piece of dirt? "Joel Steinberg (born May 25, 1941), a former New York criminal defense attorney, attracted international media attention when he was accused of murder and convicted of manslaughter in the November 1, 1987, death of a six-year-old girl, Elizabeth ("Lisa"), whom he and his live-in partner Hedda Nussbaum had "adopted". During the trial, it was revealed that Lisa was also sexually abused by non-family members. Now there's a better life. As Mama Kate said, every parent who thinks that adoption is better should think carefully about these cases and weigh the risk they are taking by giving their children away to strangers who are *cough-cough* "screened" by the adoption industry. I would never in a million years recommend that anyone take this risk with strangers.
25 :
The poor kid :( And no, it doesn't. Abuse is unfortunate and could happen whether adopted or not. Perverts like Lombard should be locked up for life
