Sexual Allegations Prompt Review Of Man’s License

LINCOLN, Neb. —

A 32-year-old Lincoln man has been accused of having sex with a patient at the teen treatment center where he worked.

Police charged Robert Dirks, a former employee of the treatment center, with sexual abuse of a protected individual.

Dirks is a licensed foster parent with the state of Nebraska.

The victim was a 16-year-old girl, police said. The girl told a counselor about the sexual relationship. The relationship lasted about a month and ended in January, according to police.

According to police spokeswoman Katie Flood, the girl had been a patient at Turning Point residential treatment center for about a year.Dirks is accused of inappropriately touching the girl at the center, at 1430 South St., and engaging in a sexual act at a city Park, Flood said.

Besides a traffic ticket, Dirks has never been in trouble with the law.According to court documents, the teen said the two would touch each other at the center when other staff and clients weren’t looking.

She also said Dirks took her and a 17-year-old girl to parks. The 17-year-old apparently witnessed some of the intimate encounters at the parks, according to court documents.

“He obviously had direct contact with her on a regular basis,” Flood said.

A Health and Humans Services employee said Dirks’ foster license is under review. Dirks and his wife have lived since September at residential housing run by Christian Heritage.The four foster children living with them were removed on Jan. 27.

All were teenage boys older than 15.Christian Heritage’s CEO said, “While our concern is first and foremost for the children entrusted to our care, we are also concerned for the entire Dirks family.

“Dirks was released from jail after posting $10,000 of a $100,000 bond.His next court appearance is Feb. 26

Source: http://www.ketv.com/mostpopular/22474988/detail.html

Sheriff: no rules, laws broken in Ohio jail death

The Associated Press 3:41 PM Friday, February 5, 2010

AKRON, Ohio — A sheriff in Ohio says he’s satisfied that no laws or jail rules were broken in the death of an inmate who was restrained by five deputies.

Summit County Sheriff Drew Alexander released internal reports Friday in the 2006 death of 28-year-old Mark McCullaugh. He died after restraints, pepper spray and a stun gun were used on him during a struggle at the county jail in Akron.

A medical examiner determined the cause of death was asphyxiation from blunt-force blows and various physical, electrical and chemical restraints.

One deputy was acquitted of murder and charges were dropped against four others.

The sheriff says the acquittal and dismissal of criminal charges and civil claims convinced him that there was no violation of law or jail rules.

___

February 05, 2010 08:37 PM EST

Copyright 2010, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Calgary foster parent facing abuse charges should have undergone rigid checks

Garry Prokopishin

Calgary man accused of paying kids for sex acts

A city man at the centre of sexual abuse charges against teens under care in his foster home should have been subjected to at least four checks a year under the province’s authority.

Under its guidelines for foster homes, Children and Youth Services staff were required to check on Garry Prokopishin’s northwest duplex every three months.

He had opened his Beddington home to 55 troubled teens over the past 20 years.

On Thursday, police laid charges against Prokopishin, who is accused of offering three teens under his care money in exchange for sexual acts between January 2006 and April 2008.

In the wake of the shocking allegations, the province says its system is solid — all of its foster families are required to renew their foster home licence yearly, and must update criminal background checks every three years. Most meetings are required to be in the home, face to face.

Due to privacy issues, officials won’t say how often they visited Prokopishin’s home.

Youth workers meet with foster children face to face or on the telephone every month for the first three months.

When children are school aged, they meet with case workers without foster parents being present, to allow them privacy to disclose concerns.

The system’s screening and supporting foster parents is solid, according to a longtime caregiver.

The woman, who cannot be identified under child protection laws, has been a Calgary foster parent for 28 years.

“I think there’s been tons of improvements in the last decade on how to police and screen foster parents, foster children,” she said.

“There’s a lot of supports out there that are available.”

Alberta Children and Youth Services Minister Yvonne Fritz, who promised a sweeping review of the case, calls the sex offence charges against a foster parent “very rare.”

“I know that foster parents are well screened. I know that there are opportunities for staff to meet with foster parents,” Fritz told reporters after learning of the criminal charges Thursday.

Prokopishin is charged with luring a child by cellphone, three counts each of obtaining or attempting to obtain sex from a person under 18 years of age and sexual contact with a youth by a person in authority.

The allegations have not been proven in court.

Calgary police say they have interviewed 13 out of 55 former foster kids who lived in the couple’s care over the past 20 years.

All of the boys who lived in the home were high-risk teens with past troubles with police, and drug and alcohol problems, police said. They were between 14 and 17, and up to five teens lived there at a time.

Last June, police received a tip from an agency that sparked their investigation. Police did not confirm if the allegations that a man was allegedly engaging in sexual acts with underage boys was reported by Children’s Services.

Three boys under 18 were victimized between January 2006 and April 2008, police allege.

No children have been living in the home since June, police say.

Prokopishin is a director for the Calgary & District Foster Parents Association and was named 2007 Foster Family of the Year.

With files from Richard Cuthbertson, szickefoose@theherald.canwest.com

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

Sex Abuse Allegations At Home For Troubled Teens

Source: http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2010/2/5/childrens_home_issues_statement_on_sexual_abuse_allegations.html

Reported by Heather Sorentrue

CLERMONT — A children’s home for at-risk teens released a statement Friday to News 13 about allegations that a boy sexually abused five others.

The alleged victims came forward back in November and told Executive Director Steve Zepp at Green Isle Children’s Ranch.

In a statement, the children’s ranch said, “The resident accused in the incident was removed from the program at Green Isle Ranch during the summer for reasons not associated with the allegations, and the executive director was replaced in mid-December.”

The statement also said the allegations were immediately referred to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Children and Families.

“They’re serious allegations,” said Lt. John Herrell from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. “They’re sex crimes and we take those allegations very seriously and that’s why we’re looking into it and plan on filing charges through the State Attorney’s Office soon.”

Detectives have interviewed the five teens who came forward and the suspect.

They plan to meet with prosecutors about the case next week.

Report: More cases of child abuse suspected in Catholic schools

Read more: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1531464.php/Report-More-cases-of-child-abuse-suspected-in-Catholic-schools#ixzz0emmrWUBm