A same-sex couple accused of sexually abusing their adopted children are facing trial after withdrawing from a plea agreement as they are facing new allegations of molestation.
George Harasz, pictured above, and Douglas Wirt of Glastonbury,pictured below were set to be sentenced Friday in Hartford Superior Court under a deal calling for suspended prison sentences and probation.
But the men instead withdrew from the agreement. The married couple pleaded no contest to charges of risk of injury to a minor in January.
Harasz and Wirth adopted nine children beginning in 2000 and were arrested in November 2011.
Police said two boys, ages 5 and 15, accused Harasz of sexually assaulting them. Harasz was charged with first-degree sexual assault and Wirth was charged with third-degree sexual assault of the 15-year-old boy.The judge said that the new allegations of abuse revealed in the pre-sentence investigation are 'dramatically different and more extreme.'
According to the report cited by the prosecutors, the couple's adopted son said he has scars 'from being held down and raped and that those injuries were inflicted by a weapon.'
During the hearing, one of the alleged victims addressed the court, demanding that his fathers be locked up in prison. The teenager said that the physical, psychological and sexual abuse began when he was six years old.
According to his statement, Harasz and Wirth would touch and violate him, and would make him perform sexual acts on the two of them.
'They took turns raping me over and over,' the accuser said. 'Anyone who would do this to a child is a sick, demented person.'
Other children in the home told authorities they weren't abused.
Friday was supposed to be a sentencing hearing for Harasz and Wirth, who pleaded guilty in January to one felony count each of risk of injury to a minor.
But the agreement fell apart at the last moment when the defendants learned of a new allegation of abuse made against Harasz by one of the alleged victims, the Hartford Courant reported.
The case was thrown into further turmoil after additional allegations of abuse came to light involving three other of the nine children adopted by the Connecticut men.
Prosecutor David Zagaja told Judge Joan Alexander that in light of the revelations, which could result in additional criminal charges, there was no point in going forward with the sentencing. Instead,
Zagaja said the proper course of action was to go to trial.
The defendants' defense attorneys agreed, asking the judge to allow their clients to withdraw their guilty plea and have their day in court to clear their name.
The judge said that the new allegations of abuse revealed in the pre-sentence investigation are 'dramatically different and more extreme.'
Several family members of the two men spoke out in their defense, including one of their adopted sons, Carlos Harasz, who once again insisted that his siblings accusing their parents are liars and said they are mentally ill.
Carlos Harasz claimed that the abuse his brother described was committed by his previous foster parents, not the two fathers who built a 'normal, painless life' for their large rood.
He also accused child services and police of taking 'the word of an angry, damaged, disturbed boy' and ended up destroying a family.
Russell Wirth described his son and his partner as 'loving, dedicated parents' who were destroyed by the false allegations, and called on their three adopted sons to tell the truth.
Married fathers Harasz and Wirth, who say they consider caring for hard-to-place children a personal challenge, adopted three sets of siblings, all boys, since 2000.
George's two biological children and their mother also live at the large Victorian home in Glastonbury, Connecticut.
According to their website, the family also ran a dog breeding business from their home, with the original aim of helping the children learn to love and care for something.
in November 2011, Harasz was arrested and charged with assaulting two children and Wirth with assaulting one, police told the Hartford Courant.
Harasz was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault, aggravated first-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and cruelty to persons.
Wirth was charged with one count of third-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.
Police began investigating the allegations in February. The boys, three groups of siblings, were removed from the home in February 2012, authorities said. A second investigation began in August.
But Carlos Harasz, another adopted son of the same-sex couple, said that in more than 10 years living with Harasz and Wirth, he never saw or experienced any abuse.
Carlos Harasz, who goes to Central Connecticut State University, told the Courant that, before their adoption, the children were moved often between foster families and were suffering from 'reactive attachment disorder'.
The condition often affects children who have been moved frequently from home to home or who have been taken from their parents. Common symptoms can include withdrawal, aggressive behavior, lying and stealing.
Carlos said.'When you go through foster care, you have a lot of issues,' he said. 'When you've been with 20 other families who've done you wrong, somebody has to take the blame. It doesn't have to be the people who saved our lives.'
Harasz and Wirth were unfairly taking that blame for that pain, Carlos said.
'Maybe they couldn't accept the happiness we have here', he said of the accusers. 'Things were going good.'
Adoption officials said that they had revised its practices since the case emerged.
Department of Children and Families Commissioner Joette Katz said: 'I was horrified that adopted children could be so terribly abused by the adults who are responsible for their care.'
She said that the placements were recommended to DCF by a private adoption agency.
If convicted, Harasz faces decades in prison.
Culled from DAILY MAIL
No comments:
Post a Comment